


Not Alone

by ashleygrusz



Category: Sekirei
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-07-28 06:57:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 25,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7629805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleygrusz/pseuds/ashleygrusz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sora has been a loner ever since her parents died. Two years later, she's finally trying to connect with people again, but her new "friends" drag her to a host club. What happens when the enigmatic host from the club walks her home, and offers her all the things that she's been missing?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Kagari looked around the club, wondering if he should even bother to keep working here.  While it was true that he needed the money since Miya refused to accept MBI’s unlimited credit cards, he could always make a cash withdrawal from the card to pay for his rent, and it was starting to look like not only was he not reacting to any of the women who came to him for company, but like there may not be any female Ashikabis to begin with.  Not to mention how this job of him limited the time that he could use to protect the other unwinged Sekirei.

As he sighed, Kagari thought,  _ Well, it’s not like I didn’t know that that was a possibility.  Takehito did say that the gene was more frequently passed onto males, rather than females.  But still, there should be at least one in the city for me to react to. _

Sighing again, Kagari began to move towards the table of thirty-somethings wondering if he would even be able to react to anyone, much less one of the very few, possibly nonexistent, female Ashikabis in the city.

* * *

 

As the afternoon wore on into evening, Kagari was shocked to begin to feel heat rush through his entire body, as though he had a fever.   _ Wait, is this what I think it is?  Could I really be- _

He was pulled from his astonished thoughts as the door to the club opened to reveal a group of college students walking through the door, the heat in his body becoming hotter the closer the girls walked to him.  Realising that his Ashikabi was so close, he hurriedly excused himself from the table that he was currently entertaining, asking them to give one of the rookies a try, as he moved forward to offer to accompany the group of teenagers and/or twenty somethings.

As he led the five of them to a table, he looked them all over, trying to figure out which of the group was his Ashikabi.  As he scanned them, he hoped that it wasn’t the girl with the bleached hair who was wearing as little as legally possible while bitchily insulting everyone she saw in the club, or the girl’s brunette sidekick who was happily parroting back everything the girl said.

As he shuddered, Kagari began to wonder if he really wanted an Ashikabi who would hang around with girls like this.  He may not have a lot of experience with dealing with humans, but he had been a host long enough to recognise their kind.  They seemed to be the type of close-minded fools who would insult anyone who didn’t fit their ideal or “perfection” and “beauty,” and would take their revenge on anyone who dared to disagree with their opinions.  The bleached blonde was likely their leader, and from Kagari’s experience, he could guess that the rest were her loyal flock of sycophants.  So what did that say about his Ashikabi?

After a moment, Kagari acknowledged that it didn’t really matter what it said about her.  Assuming that the girl hadn’t yet winged a Sekirei, there would be no way for her to recognise him as one, and so the choice of having her as his Ashikabi was his alone, though he knew that he needed to be winged if he wanted both his reaction to her, as well as the instability of his powers, to stop.

Once the group sat down, Kagari was relieved to know that neither the blonde, Mao, nor her lackey, Kaede, were his Ashikabi, as the two of them moved to sit practically on top of him, and his reaction to his Ashikabi faded slightly, indicating that she had moved further away.

_ Maybe there is a god out there, because I know that I definitely just dodged a bullet.  Make that two _ , he thought as Kaede began to press her cleavage against his arm as Mao continued to talk to him.

As politely as he could, Kagari interrupted her rant on how he must get so tired having to entertain the “ugly cows” at the other tables all the time, and how glad he must be to have a group of “real ladies” to accompany him.  Fighting back the urge to tell her off for her derogatory terms for his customers, some of whom had been quite good to him in the past, he began to make proper introductions to the group.  “I’m guessing that you all know that I’m Kagari, but I don’t think I’ve gotten all of your names yet.  Would you mind telling me?”

Two of the other girls, another brunette named Kana, and a black haired girl named Yuka, introduced themselves, happy to finally get some attention from the host that was being monopolised by their leader and her lapdog.

However, Kagari couldn’t help but wonder about the last girl who only gave her name in an incomprehensible mumble and who, he couldn’t help but notice, seemed to be intentionally sitting as far away from him as possible.  As he thought about it, he realised that the girl had looked perfectly miserable the entire time that she had been here.   _ Why would she come here if she obviously doesn’t enjoy it?  Or is it just that she doesn’t like being ignored and is sulking because of it? _  Kagari had had a few customers like that in the past.

However, he was quickly drawn from his musings as the two girls sitting beside him began to push themselves ever closer to him in an attempt to either suffocate him or seduce him, Kagari wasn’t entirely sure.  But as he entertained the four girls who seemed to be interested in conversation, he couldn’t help but notice that the fifth girl, whose name he still hadn’t managed to catch, never once made any attempt to claim his attention.  In fact, she seemed to be trying to sink into the booth that they were all sitting in, and only drank a few glasses of water, unlike her already tipsy friends.

After another half hour, the girl stood up, speaking clearly for the first time as she said, “I think it’d be a good idea for me to head home now.  I’ll see you guys in class,” before she dropped some money for the water and his time on the table and walked out.

Kagari could feel the other hosts looking at him in shock, surprised that there was actually a woman who their illustrious, top ranked host couldn’t charm.  But what surprised him the most was that, as the unsociable girl walked away from him, he could feel the heat in his body, which had had been steadily growing over the last hour, begin to fade the farther away she got from him, while simultaneously pulling him towards her.

Quickly realising that it would be unlikely for the girl to return, considering how unhappy she had seemed in the club, and how that could very well mean that he’d never find her again, he hurriedly excused himself from the group, who tried tell him that the girl was just an “unfriendly nerd”, by saying that he had promised his sister that he would visit her at the end of his shift.

As soon as he stood up, his boss approached, obviously trying to figure out whether he should be mad at Kagari for leaving his customers or concerned about what screws had come loose in his head to make him think that leaving his customers would be a good idea.  Before his boss could read him the riot act, Kagari quickly but clearly stated, “Sir, I do believe that that girl is drunk.  If she tries to go home alone, she could end up being injured or passed out on the street, and all with our stamp on her hand.”

The owner paled at the thought of what such a scandal could do to his business, he hurriedly sent Kagari on his way, citing that his shift was over anyway, before hastily directing one of the other hosts to take over his table.  As Kagari walked away, he could hear the girls both complaining about his departure and cooing over his replacement, the second ranked host, Haru.

Once outside, he realised that his Ashikabi must be faster than he had assumed as she was nowhere in sight.  Or she had gotten a cab.

Before panic set in, he realised that while he couldn’t see her anymore, he could still feel the reaction that being near her had caused.  When he focused on it, he realised that he could sense where she was going and began to run in that direction, hoping that she really was walking home like most other college students would.

After a few minutes, he saw her walking in front of him.  As he hurried to catch up with her, he also took a moment to examine her.  He had been too busy with her friends to really look at her, but now that he finally had the chance, he realised that she wasn’t really dressed for clubbing.  While her jeans and boots could be considered casual, she was also wearing a baggy sweatshirt that hid most of her upper body, and her long black hair was pulled into a ponytail, though several strands were peaking out.

_ She looks as though she should be at home studying, so what was she doing at the club?  And with those girls, for that matter?  They didn’t strike me as the types to hang around with someone not wearing mini skirts or skin tight jeans. _

Kagari decided to simply ask her these questions once she gave him the chance as he finally came close enough to her to say, “Hello,” and put a hand on her shoulder.

Right before she threw a roundhouse kick at his head.

_ What the hell _ was Kagari’s only thought as he quickly dodged.  After a second though, he realised how this situation must have seemed to her: a young girl walking home alone on a deserted street when all of a sudden a random stranger grabs her from behind.  Hell, Kagari’d have probably tried to kick him too.

With this in mind, he quickly called, “Hey, wait, I wasn’t going to hurt you,” while blocking one of her punches, even as he realised that she was much stronger than he had first thought.  He was stronger, but Kagari didn’t doubt that she could do some damage if he let her.  Maybe she could even hold her own against some of the weaker Sekirei.  As he recalled, there was that little girl who could only scream, and then the information Sekireis weren’t exactly known for their combat skills.

As his words registered, the girl hesitantly stopped her attack long enough to look at him.  After a moment, she hesitantly said, “You’re that host from the club . . . right?”

Relieved that the combat portion of the evening seemed to be over, Kagari dropped his arms that he had raised to block any other attacks before saying, “That’s right, I’m Kagari.  I noticed you leaving the club, and I was worried about a girl like you walking home alone.”

The girl snorted softly before bursting into full on laughter.  Unable to get the joke, Kagari simply stayed where he was, trying to figure out what the joke was.  After a moment, her guffaws stopped and she said, in a surprisingly melodic voice, “I’m sorry for trying to kick you. But I don’t need you to protect me, as you’ve probably already realised.  So why don’t you go back and entertain the others.”

Taken aback, Kagari asked, “Is it really that bad for you to be around me?”

The girl looked surprised, as she pulled the hair that had fallen into her face back, though Kagari didn’t see her make any attempt to put it back into her hair tie, as she said, “Look, it’s not like that.”  After a moment she sighed and explained, “It’s not you.  Tonight wasn’t supposed to-Well let’s just say that tonight was a mistake.”

“A mistake?”

“That’s right.  So if you followed me because of some kind of wounded ego or because you wanted to know why I left, don’t worry about it.  You’re still plenty attractive and I’m sure that any woman would love to be around you, I’m just not one of them.”

As she said that last part, she raised her head so that she could meet his eyes, and Kagari was shocked by the vibrant blue orbs that met his own.   _ What the-she’s Japanese, right?  So then, those have to be contacts, right?  Or some kind of surgery? _

After a moment, the girl seemed to realise what he was staring at and said, “Oh yeah, I guess they look kind of weird,” as she dropped her head.

At his Ashikabi’s withdrawal, Kagari quickly stepped forward saying, “No, they aren’t weird at all.  I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare-”  Kagari cut himself off as he realised, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever actually got you name.”  As she looked at him, he realised that she had said it, and hurried to apologise.  “It’s just that there were so many people in the club, and your voice is so quiet, that I-”

The girl laughed quietly before saying, in the same quiet, harmonious voice that she had been using the entire time, “It’s fine, people are always telling me that I’m too quiet, but for some reason I can never manage to talk at the same volume as other people.”  She looked at him for a moment before saying, “My name’s Sora.”

“Sora-san, then.”  Kagari smiled slightly, before reaching forward to lift her head and meet her eyes.  “I apologise for staring earlier.  It was incredibly rude, but I just couldn’t help but think that your eyes are beautiful.  They look just like the sky during the summer time.”

Even though she blushed at the surprising praise, Sora quietly murmured, “Thank you,” before pulling her head away and continuing, “But my point still stands.  I can take care of myself, so please just go back to your club.”

“My shift is over,” Kagari said, being purposefully obtuse.  And from the look that she gave him, she knew it too.

“Then go home.”  As he opened his mouth, she hastily added, “Or wherever it is that you need to go.”

Kagari still smiled as he said, “Then where I need to go is to your home.”  As she began to protest, he quickly said, “I may make my money by flirting with women, but I was taught to be a gentleman.  So I can’t just, in good conscience, allow you to walk home by yourself.”

Sora stared at him for a moment before starting to walk away, saying, “Fine, but don’t think that this is gonna get you anything.”

“That’s fine.”

She quickly swung around, saying, “I mean it.  No tea, no phone number, no dates.  I won’t even let you inside.”

Kagari was tempted to brush off her words, but when he saw the mistrust in her eyes, he quietly said, “That’s perfectly fine, Sora-san.  I really am just worried about something happening to you.”  He paused for a beat before admitting, “Though I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t curious about why a girl like you, who has both self-respect and intelligence, would be hanging around with girls like them.”

Sora sighed before starting to walk again.  Kagari considered asking her again, but he figured that he should be grateful that she wasn’t fighting him about walking her home anymore.

After a few minutes, Sora finally admitted, “I’ve had . . . issues in the past.  As a result, I’m only in my first year of college, even though I’m almost twenty.  I went out with those girls because I wanted to show people that I had changed, that I’m not as . . . hostile as I used to be.”  She sighed softly before finishing, “I wanted to have fun tonight, to be around people my own age who might actually accept me for who I am.”

Kagari wasn’t sure what to say about that, but was spared from having to when Sora said softly, “Thank you.”  At his confused look, she clarified, “I think I needed to say that to someone, so thank you for listening to me.  Of course, you could have just not been ignoring me, too,” she finished teasingly.

Kagari smiled softly down at her before saying, “Oh, so you don’t care if I’m just arm candy.  And here I thought you wanted me for my brains.”

“Well, you certainly haven’t shown much tonight, walking on a dark street in that suit,” Sora said as she laughed at his teasing.  After a moment, she became more serious and said, “Damn, I really need to go out on my own terms.  It’s been way too long since I last laughed like that.”

“Then, why don’t I take you out?” Kagari offered.

“I thought I said no dates,” Sora said, slightly less harshly than she had earlier.

Kagari was still slightly surprised by her apparent revulsion to the idea of dating him, but still said, “I never offered you a date.  It would just be two people going out, maybe becoming friends, or maybe hating each other and never seeing each other again.”

Sora bit her lip for a moment after he finished speaking, but she quickly shook her head, saying, “No way.”  Before he could protest, Sora stopped walking as she said, “Thanks for walking me home, but I really can’t.”  As she began to walk up the stairs to a surprisingly large, detached house, she turned around to say, “Kagari-san, I really am grateful to you, especially for listening to my ramblings.  But I’m not in any position to get into a relationship right now, romantic or otherwise.  So thank you, but please, don’t come back,” she said as she bowed at him.

Before she had a chance to turn around again, Kagari gently grabbed one of her wrists and put a piece of paper into her hands.  “Here’s my number.”  As she began to protest, he calmly said, “You don’t have to call me, but if you ever change your mind about getting out, I could show you around.  Or even if you just want someone to listen to you, you can call me.  No strings attached.”

As he finished, he let go of her wrist.  Sora stared at him for a moment before all but running up to her front door, although, Kagari noticed, she didn’t drop the piece of paper on the ground.

_ What a strange little Ashikabi I have _ , he thought while laughing to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The next few days were full of nothing but troubled thoughts from Kagari.  He had continued to do his job, both as a host and as a guardian to unwinged Sekirei.  However, he was never able to figure out what he should do about his Ashikabi.

He knew that most of them would wing themselves to whoever they reacted to because they believed that that person was their destined one.  However, Kagari had been living in the city for too long to consider winging himself to a complete stranger. After all, who knew what Sora was really like when things started to get hard.  Would she stay and try to support him?  Or would she expect him to handle everything himself, without lifting so much as a finger to help?  And once she had a Sekirei, would she become like Mikogami and Higa, constantly trying to gain more power for herself?

Despite these concerns, the one thing that Kagari worried about most was how he would get her to agree to be his Ashikabi.  His life had already been made very difficult because of this stupid game of Minaka’s, and he refused to drag someone else into it without their consent.  Before this, he had assumed that, as a single number, he would probably react to someone who already had a few Sekirei, as usually happened when single numbers began to react.  Under that assumption, he had figured that all he would have to do would be to show how strong he was in order to be accepted, if this supposed Ashikabi wasn’t taken in by his pretty face.  For whatever reason, many Ashikabi seemed to be taken in by a Sekirei’s beauty, and some would go so far as to only wing Sekirei that they viewed as beautiful.  As if that would help them in a battle royale.

But in Kagari’s mind, he couldn’t see someone who would go out dressed in comfortable jeans and a baggy sweatshirt as someone who would be especially concerned with his looks.  Oh sure, she’d probably care in the way that she would have someone pretty to look at, but he didn’t think that it would enough to influence her decision as to whether or not she wanted to join the Sekirei Plan.

As Kagari leapt from rooftop to rooftop, looking for any Sekirei who were in trouble as he went to do some chores for Miya, he also tried to brainstorm ways to both meet and convince Sora to wing him.  However, as he made a leap, he saw Sora walking into the grocery store and considered whether or not he was desperate enough to wait for her to come out.

After a moment, he decided that he was most definitely desperate enough to wait for her.

* * *

 

**A Little Earlier**

_ Damn it _ , Sora thought to herself as she opened the refrigerator door only to realise that she was out of milk.  Looking at the time, Sora knew that Yui would be waking up soon and she would want her bowl of cereal.  Hurriedly looking around, Sora acknowledged that she had nothing else to give Yui for breakfast, or lunch for that matter, and resigned herself to calling Asa.

Asa Akiyama was the fifteen year old granddaughter of the woman who babysat Yui while Sora was in class.  Luckily for her, Asa and her grandmother lived in the house next to Sora, so she could call them in situations like this.

“Hey Asa-chan, I’m sorry to wake you up so early, but I just realised that I don’t have any food in the house.  Would you mind coming over here to watch Yui while I go shopping?  I’ll make you breakfast on top of your usual pay,” Sora offered to sweeten the deal.

She could hear Asa laugh on the other end of the line, saying, “Sure thing.  Yui-chan’s a sweetie, and you know that I’d never turn down your cooking.  After all, it won’t kill me like Oba-chan’s would.”

Sora laughed softly when she could hear yelling on Asa’s end, most likely because her grandmother had heard her talking.  The two of them always fought about Asa’s rather blunt evaluation of her grandmother’s skill in the kitchen.  Unfortunately, while Asa was probably right about the possibility of being killed if she ate large portion of her grandmother’s cooking, it was also true that Asa wasn’t any better at cooking than the elder Akiyama.

As a result, Sora was able to have them babysit Yui for dirt cheap in exchange for cooking them too meals everyday, not that it was much of a change.  When Sora and her parents had moved in, they had quickly realised that not only would the Akiyamas cooking put their own health at risk, it also stood the chance of burning down their house, and as a result the Akiyamas had become frequent dinner guests in their home.

While Sora grabbed her house keys and shoes, she muttered a quiet thank you to whoever was listening that she had neighbors whose cooking could probably be considered chemical weaponry.

No sooner than she had put her shoes on, Asa was at the door in her pajamas, letting herself in with the key that Sora had given the two Akiyamas for when they were babysitting.  Amused at how her little neighbor seemed to feel no qualms at making herself right at home, she gave the girl a quick greeting and set out with the intention of getting whatever she would need to last until tonight.

When she arrived at the grocery store, she grabbed milk, along with what she needed to make waffles, Asa’s favorite breakfast food, to make the early morning up to the girl.  She also made sure to grab some fruit to give the waffles flavor and color, and peanut butter for lunch.  As she hurried through the checkout, Sora wondered what she should make for dinner.  She not only had to feed herself, she also had to make some for the Akiyamas.  She had had leftovers from last night that she could give them for lunch today, but she would need to make something different for dinner.

Once she reached the parking lot, Sora began to readjust the bags in her arms to start the walk home when all of a sudden, one of the bags got lighter.

“Wha-”  Turning around, Sora saw a familiar gray haired man lifting one of her bags and reaching for another.  She was so shocked to see him that it took her a moment to respond to his presence before protesting, “Hey wait, what are you doing?”

Kagari chuckled, “It’s good to know that you’re still as feisty as ever.”  As she began to splutter, he quickly explained, “Don’t worry, I’m not stalking you.  I promised my landlady that I’d pick up some things and I saw you standing here, so I thought that I’d give you some help.”  Well, he rationalised to himself, Miya had asked him to get some things on his way back from his guardian duties.

Laughing lightly, Sora couldn’t help but say, “You really do have some kind of a gentleman complex, don’t you?  First you walk me home, and now you’re carrying my bags.”

“Well, I did tell you that I was taught to be a gentleman.”

“And I do believe that I told you that I didn’t need you help.”  Seeing that he wasn’t budging, Sora sighed and said, “Seriously, the bags aren’t even that heavy, and you know that I don’t live that far away.”

“All the more reason for me to help you,” Kagari retorted.  “After all, it won’t be taking me very far out of my way, and bags these light won’t trouble me at all.”

Sora couldn’t help but laugh.  “You know, for someone who looks so laid back, you’re awfully stubborn.  And I’m betting you have some smart comeback for whatever I tell you,” Sora stated, resigned to being helped by him.

Seeing the confirmation in his eyes, Sora insisted on carrying one of her three bags, her token resistance to her help.  As they walked, Kagari couldn’t help noting, “You don’t seem to have bought very much.  I suppose that you live alone.”

Looking at him, Sora gave in to his subtle prying, realising that she really had nothing left to lose after telling him everything that was on her mind the other night.  “Not exactly alone, but I couldn’t get any more right now.  It would have been too heavy to carry, and I didn’t have the money.”  Seeing Kagari’s surprise, she hurried to explain, “It’s just that I’m getting paid after work today, so I was going to go back and buy more groceries later.  And that means that I’ll have to go grocery shopping twice in one day,” Sora paled as she made this realisation aloud.

Chuckling, Kagari asked, “Around what time will you get off work?”

Glaring at him, she began to give him a speech about how she wasn’t some helpless little girl thing that needed his help, and that she certainly wasn’t going to give him anything if he did help her.  When she finally stopped to take a breath, Kagari quickly cut in, “Sora-san, I didn’t mean it like that.  I was simply thinking that if you go shopping by yourself later, the bags might be heavy.  I don’t mind carrying them for you and I really don’t expect you to sleep with me if I do.”  That much, at least, was true.  For some reason, Kagari couldn’t seem to bring himself to lie to her and say that he had no ulterior motives, but he could at least assure her that he wasn’t doing it to get into her pants, though he realised he certainly wouldn’t object to it if such a relationship were to come about.

The t-shirt she had on know was much more form fitting than the sweatshirt that she had been wearing the other night, showing that her lithe body still had decent curves.  He couldn’t help but wonder why she would try to hide her body like that, since sweatshirts like that were usually used to hide extra weight, but if Sora had any, it wasn’t noticeable.

As he was musing that maybe she just threw it on in the same way that she seemed to throw on her wrinkled shirt and jeans, he noticed Sora shivering at the breeze that came through the area.   _ Maybe she gets cold easily? _

Reminding himself to bring a jacket with him when they went grocery shopping later, he decided to try to learn more about her, knowing that even though his reaction was quickly making it hard to focus, he still needed to make sure that he wasn’t creating another Higa by becoming her Sekirei.  “So then, do you and your roommates rotate who does the shopping?”  At Saya’s surprised look, he explained, “It’s just that if you were living with your parents, I imagine that they’d be willing to give you money for groceries, so I assumed that you were living elsewhere.”

“Ah, I guess I can see how you’d think that,” Saya said slowly.

“Did I say something wrong?” Kagari asked, concerned at the sadness he could see in her expressive blue eyes.

“No, you didn’t say anything wrong,” she hastily told him before sighing and slowly admitting,  “It’s just that I do live at my parents’ home.  Or, I guess I should say that I live in the house that my parents owned before they died.”

“Oh, I’m so-”

“Kagari-san, please don’t apologise,” Sora sighed.  “It’s been a long time since they died, but sometimes it’s still hard to talk about.”  Kagari smiled gently to comfort her and she continued, “To answer your previous question, ever since my parents died, it’s just been me and Yui in the house, but I also cook for the Akiyamas since they babysit Yui for, basically, free.”

“That’s kind of you,” Kagari told her gently.  However, just as he was about to continue, some men walked past them.

Neither of them thought anything of it, but one of them called out to Sora.  Turning, she saw that one of the men was vaguely familiar to her, even though she couldn’t really remember where she knew him from.  Before she was given a chance to ask, he kept talking, “Damn, it really is the slut.  You out looking for your next lay.”  Then he seemed to notice Kagari standing next to her and added, “Ah, so this guys your new one.  Well, not like it matters much anyway.  As I recall, you went through guys pretty fast.  Hey, when you’re done with this one, why not-”

That was as far as he got as Kagari, noticing his Ashikabi’s humiliation and withdrawal from the conversation, stepped forward and punched the smart mouth.  “You know, for someone who seems to get off on humiliating others, you certainly don’t seem to see how very pathetic you are.”

The loudmouth started to stand up, looking like he wanted to go after Kagari, probably figuring that he could take the androgynous man, but stopped when he saw his eyes.  He might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but even he could clearly see that he was out of his league when he looked into those wine red eyes and remembered the force that had been behind the effeminate man’s punch.  Instead as soon as he was on his feet, he made a few parting shots about how he letting them off, but quickly left with his two stooges.

As soon as they were gone, Sora mumbled, “I’m sorry that you had to get involved in that, Kagari-san.”

It was only due to the fact that Kagari had immediately begun to move towards her that he was able to hear her words.  But what really affected him was the shame that he could hear in her words.  “Hey, that guy was an idiot.  It’s not your fault.”

Sora laughed bitterly.  “Oh, is that so?”  Looking at the ground, she kept talking, “You know, not everything he said was a lie.  The reason I had to take a few years off from school is because of a guy.  And Yui isn’t my roommate or sister, she’s my-”

“That’s enough,” Kagari said as he firmly gripped her shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes so that she could see his sincerity.  “Sora-san, you are right to say that my motives for always helping you aren’t completely pure.  But they aren’t what you think.  I meant it when I said that I wasn’t doing this to get you to sleep with me, and what that guy said doesn’t change that.”  Seeing that he had her attention, Kagari loosened his grip on her shoulders, though he didn’t let go as he gently said, “I don’t know a single thing about your past.  But I do know that it’s your past, and you had your own reasons for doing the things that you did.  And I’m only here for the Sora-san that is right in front of me, not for whatever things that you may or may not have done.  And you can tell me all about it later, or maybe you’ll never tell me and you’ll make a new past for yourself as more time passes.”

Kagari, surprised at the tears he saw welling in her, released her and wondered what he had said wrong.  He was surprised when, as Sora sniffled and wiped at her eyes, he heard her say a very quiet “thank you.”

Once Sora had regained her composure, the two of them began to walk towards Sora’s house again in a comfortable silence.  As they reached the door, Sora turned around and said quietly, “I always seem to be thanking you Kagari-san.  But I know that sometimes words lose all meaning if they’re said often enough, so I wanted to let you know how grateful I really am for everything that you’ve done for me.  Somehow, when I’m with you, I feel lighter because you seem to know all of the right things to say, and also when to just listen.  But Kagari-san, I’m not sure that any sort of relationship between us is really possible for me now, even as friends, and maybe it’ll never be possible.  So I’m sorry that I can’t rise to the things that you seem to expect of me.”

Kagari only chuckled lightly before saying, “You know, you keep saying that, Sora-san, and yet we still end up together.  So why don’t you just relax and give it a try, otherwise neither of us will ever know what could happen.”

“I don’t know what you want from me,” Sora whispered as she stared at him.

“Sometimes I’m not sure that I do either,” Kagari himself seemed shocked by his statement, but, in a more light hearted tone said, “Well, I need to go and do those chores before my landlady kills me.  You have my number, so send me a text telling me when you’ll be off work.”

Sora stood in front of her door, staring after Kagari as he walked away, until the wind rustling the plastic bags reminded her that she needed to go inside and make breakfast.  As she finally began to walk inside, she was confronted by a wide-eyed Asa.

“Who was that?” the middle schooler breathed in shock.

“A friend,” Sora stated simply as she began to him while she unpacked the groceries and started breakfast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a little worried that I may have made Kagari seem a little superficial in this chapter, but I did that because I've always thought that he's pretty cynical from having to both protect other Sekireis, and also from being paid to flirt/(possibly) sleep with women. But at the same time, I do think that he's a patient guy who would understand the smaller things (as long those small things don't involve Minaka). So this is the last chapter for this week, but I'll see you all again next Saturday.


	3. Chapter 3

As Sora walked from table to table, she couldn’t help but wonder at the events that had occurred over the day.  First, she was helped by a man, and somehow ended up developing some kind of a relationship with him.

But was what she told Asa earlier the truth?  Was Kagari a friend?  Or would she regret associating with him later on?

As she hurried to serve her customers, Sora couldn’t help but worry about how she would handle it if whatever she had with Kagari really did go south.  If he really did try something, Sora had no doubt that she’d be able to handle him.  That was the kind of situation that caused her to keep training even when her father wasn’t around to tell her to keep practicing her martial arts.

But what about her emotions?  It’s been a long time since she last let anyone in.  How would she handle it if she found out that trusting him really was a mistake?  Sora knew that she didn’t want to go back into her shell, like she’d done for the last two years.

Sighing, Sora realised that there wasn’t anything that she could really do at the moment except make sure that all of her customers got their food and hope for the best.  She’d already told Kagari where she worked since he’d insisted on walking her to the store as well, and she’d known when she decided to start opening up again that at some point, she’d have to trust someone, even if she had no reason to trust them.  At least Kagari had been a perfect gentleman to her so far.

Realising that she’d just end up driving herself crazy if she kept worrying like this, Sora began to focus on what groceries she needed for the rest of the week.  Luckily, she wouldn’t have to cook anything when she got home since Asa’s mother was in town and would cook for them when she got home, but she would still have to buy groceries for their meals.

Before Sora knew it, she shift was over.  She hurried to get her paycheck and to change out of her uniform, briefly wondering if Kagari would ditch her if he realised that she was an almost broke waitress who regularly wore a mustard yellow uniform.  From what she had seen of him, he certainly cared about his own appearance, so he would probably care about others’ as well.  Then again, he hadn’t seemed to mind her sweatshirt or wrinkled shirt.

Sadly, thinking of that reminded her that she really needed to buy some more sweatshirts since the two that she did own had Yui’s food on them from when she hadn’t appreciated her food.  Sora shook her head, wondering how she had gotten such a picky child when she had certainly never really minded any kind of food.  Maybe she had gotten it from her father.  Sora’s mood noticeably darkened when she thought of him, though she still worked to put on a cheery face as she said goodnight to her coworkers, feeling bad for them having gotten the graveyard shift.  Sora couldn’t help but wonder yet again why it was that the diner stayed open twenty four hours when almost no one came in after eleven, with the exception of the drunk off their ass college students or drug dealers.

Pushing everything from her mind, Sora opened the door and immediately shivered as a breeze came buy.   _ I am  definitely buying another sweatshirt the next chance I get. _

Shivering, Sora decided that it would be easier if she started walking to the grocery store, especially since Kagari had told her that he might be a bit late since he was working too.  Sending him a quick text so he’d know to just meet her at the store, Sora broke into a steady run which, sure enough, did warm her up after a few moments.

After a few minutes though, Sora ended up almost literally running into some kind of fight.  Normally, she’d have ignored them, after all there were a lot of gangs and drug dealers in this part of town, but when she realised that the person who was slowly being advanced on was a young girl, Sora knew that she wouldn’t really be able to just let it go.

Sighing, she moved to stand in front of the girl in the sailor suit, she was surprised to be confronted by two more women.   _ Huh, that’s new.  Normally the gangs leave the guys to do all the work and have the girls there to look pretty and suck them off. _

Sora wondered idly for a moment whether or not she should be proud that the gangs of Shinto Teito had apparently become much more accepting of women, before she realised that these girls didn’t look like the drug dealing types and they seemed to be dressed too conservatively to belong to a gang, not that they were dressed normally.  Actually they were both wearing yellow and black striped dresses that only accentuated the fact that they had the same face.   _ Aren’t they a little too old to still be doing the whole twinsy thing?  Most twins stop doing that after elementary school, I’m pretty sure. _

Sora was snapped from her thoughts when one of the girls cracked a whip near her head.  “Hey, get the hell out of our way!  That Sekirei is our’s!”

_ What the hell?  A whip?  They definitely aren’t yakuza then, those guys only use swords when they feel like being traditional and guns the rest of the time, I’m pretty sure. _

Sora quickly jumped out of the way when she saw the girl begin to move.   _ Seriously, what the hell? _

“Wait, Mitsuha, we’re only supposed to fight against other Sekireis.  We could get in trouble if we’re caught,” the other twin said.

_ Sekireis?  Aren’t those some kind of bird?  Are they hunters of some kind?  But then what about this girl? _ Sora wondered as she looked behind her.

The more violent twin snapped, “Like it matters, we can always just say we didn’t do it.  And besides, this girl is probably an Ashikabi who wants No. 95, so it doesn’t matter if we attack her.”  With her mind apparently made up, she moved to crack her whip again and Sora tensed up.

_ Damnit, I don’t have a clue about what’s going on here, but I’m involved now and I definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep well at night if I just cut and run.  But what the hell do I know about whips? _  As she watched the girl begin to move her arm, Sora recalled something that one of her father’s old buddies had said about a whip being harmless after it snapped.   _ I’m pretty sure that he was talking about it in the bedroom context, but it’s all I’ve got to go on right now. _

Sora reached behind her to grab the girl’s arm and pulled her out of the way of the approaching whip.  As soon as she heard the crack, Sora moved to grab the whip and tried to pull it out of the girl’s hands, rationalising that it looked like the only weapon that the girl was carrying.  Although, she wasn’t so sure about the girl’s sister, who was currently lounging around and laughing at Miss Whip’s situation.

Sora didn’t have time to consider whether or not she could take was carrying a weapon as the other girl pulled her whip from Sora’s hands.  “You bitch, what do you think you’re doing touching my whip!” she screamed, impressing Sora with her strong lungs, before she moved to attack her again.  This time though, the whip hit the ground that Sora had been standing in and actually cracked the concrete.

Sora felt her eyes widen.   _ What the-That’s not possible.  Even if the pavement’s old, it shouldn’t split that easy.  And even the whip felt normal, or I think it did.  Is she on some kind of drug?  Steroids?  But even that doesn’t explain it. _

Realising that she was in way over her head, Sora dragged the girl whose arm she was holding forward and told her, “Don’t just stand there like an idiot, get your ass in gear and get out of here,” before shoving the girl away.  As she heard the girl’s slightly unsteady footsteps moving away from her, Sora couldn’t help but think that she should’ve taken her own damn advice.  If this girl could destroy concrete with a single hit, then what would happen if she were to hit Sora?

For a few seconds, Sora considered just running, after all she had a daughter waiting for her at home, but Sora also knew that if she did that, then the girl from earlier wouldn’t have a chance, not with how badly she was hurt and how slowly she was moving.  No matter what, Sora knew that she had to stay and at least try to fight, otherwise she’d never really be able to go back to Yui.  Her body would be there, but her soul, heart, whatever made her  _ Sora _ wouldn’t be there anymore.

As the second twin began to go after the girl who had run, Sora tried to think of some way to stop her, but was too busy dodging the whip queen to really move.  Then, she didn’t have to as a burst of flames suddenly came down from the sky.   _ Damn, maybe I’m the one on drugs, with all the trippy shit that’s going on right now. _

Things got even more surreal for Sora when Kagari jumped down from the same direction as the flames.  Sora felt almost numb as she watched Kagari take on both of the twins with  _ fucking fire _ shooting out from his hands.

But everything became much more real to Sora when she watched Kagari fall to his knees with smoke rising from his body.  Thinking that one of the twins had gotten a hit in, she started to run towards him, as the twins temporarily stopped moving, seemingly trying to figure out what was going on themselves.

“Kagari, are you hurt?” Sora asked as she knelt next to him, but when she tried to touch him, she recoiled at the heat that was coming from his body.   _ Wha-He looks like he has a fever of some kind, but he seemed perfectly healthy this morning.  And what on earth is with the heat.  Wait, his chest, it looks like it’s black.  Could it be from the fire?  But how, I mean it didn’t look like it was hitting him too.  Damnit, what am I thinking, I need to get him to a hospital. _

As Sora was about to fumble for her phone, one of Kagari’s hands shot out towards her and pulled her closer.  “What are you-”

Kagari cut her off, sounding desperate.  “My power is too unstable to fight these two, I need an ashikabi.  Sora please.”

“What?  I don’t know what you’re,” Sora started but was cut off once more as Kagari pulled her closer to him and kissed her.  Before she could even get mad at him for kissing her, for breaking his promise to her, Sora saw flames erupt behind Kagari’s back.   _ Omigod, is this it?  Am I never going to see Yui again, tuck her in? _  Before her panic could completely set it, Sora noticed something unusual about the flames.   _ Wait a minute, that fire kind of looks like  . . . wings? _

Dimly, she could hear the twins cursing as their footsteps faded.  Just as Sora began to think that she really was going crazy, or had had something slipped into her water bottle, Kagari pulled back with an apologetic look in his eyes as he said, “No. 6, Homura, your Sekirei now and forever.”

After hearing Kagari, the person who she was starting to trust start in on this “Sekirei” nonsense, the floodgates in Sora opened and she had to stop herself from shouting.  “What the hell are you talking about?  Sekirei?  And what about those girls?  Why did they run when they were winning?  And those flames?  Now you’re acting like things are completely normal when you just kissed me!”

As Sora stopped to take a breath, Kagari said, “Sora, I know that you’re very confused right now, but I need you to calm down and listen to me.  To answer your more immediate questions, those girls ran because they knew that they wouldn’t be able to beat me after I had been winged.  And I was the one who was controlling those flames, though you can see that I wasn’t able to do it very well.  Unfortunately, kissing you was the only way to save us both, and I do apologise for startling you like that.”

“What are you even-” Sora was cut off as she got a text.  Checking her phone almost on instinct, Sora saw that it was a text from Asa, asking where she was.  “Omigod, Yui!  I promised that I’d tell her a story, and Asa has had to watch her for so long.”

Slightly panicked, Sora sent back a quick message saying that she was on her way and got ready to start running when Kagari stopped her.  “Look, I get that you want something from me, but I told you from the start that dating was off the table so-”

“Sora, I’m not stopping you because of that,” Kagari told her evenly.  “Now, why don’t you take a deep breath before you pass out.”  Once that was done, he asked, “You need to get home, right?  I know a faster way to get there, so long as you trust me.”

“And why should I?” Sora asked bitterly.

“Because I won’t do anything else to you,” Kagari said calmly, causing her to look up in surprise.  “Sora, I am truly sorry that I upset you, but I promise you that it was never my intention to hurt you, and I think that you can tell that.”  Seeing her hesitate slightly, he continued, “There are a lot of things that I need to explain to you, but for now, let me get you home and we’ll talk there, okay?”

Sighing, Sora said guardedly, “Okay, but only as long as you explain.  And just because you were able to fight me off last week, don’t think it’ll be so easy to do it again if you try anything, especially with you injured.  Now, what’s this faster way of your’s?”

Smiling slightly, Kagari reached out to lift her into his arms.  As Sora began to struggle, Kagari teased her, “Now, now, I’m injured, remember?  If you keep struggling, I might drop you.  And don’t worry, I promised I’ll get you home and I will, so just hang on tight, kay?”

And then Sora could only look around her in shock as Kagari not only ran, but jumped until his feet were level with the apartment building next to him.  As Kagari leapt from building to building, Sora couldn’t help but think in amazement that if she really wasn’t insane, then the world was a much more incredible place than she had ever thought it was.


	4. Chapter 4

Sora woke up slowly, clinging to the oblivion of her dreamless sleep.  She could tell from the sunlight that was glowing through her closed eyelids that it was already much later than she would normally wake up, either due to school or work, or because of Yui waking up at the crack of dawn wanting food.  So today was truly a treat for her, being able to sleep until she wanted to wake up, feeling the warmth of another person . . .

_ Wait what. _

All thoughts of sleeping in until Yui started fussing were brought to a screeching halt as Sora realised that she hadn’t imagined the arm that was wrapped around her waist or the chest pressed against her side.  Stiffening immediately, Sora tried to remember whether she had left her father’s gun in her nightstand or in the workroom when she felt the person beside her stir.

Preparing to scream and kick him away, Sora was surprised to hear him say sleepily, “Um, you wake up really early, don’t you, Sora-san?”

“Kagari!” Sora all but screeched as she, finally freed from the arm that had been draped over her, jerked upright, ready to give him hell for trying something despite his promises to the contrary.  Before she could fully give into the feelings of betrayal, Sora saw the white bandages that were under Kagari’s shirt, and the events of the night before came rushing back to her.

* * *

 

When they reached the house, Kagari put Sora down on her feet so that she could open the door, only for the two of them to walk in on a very surprised Asa watching TV in the living room.  The teenager seemed too shocked by their sudden appearance, or rather the appearance of a man in Sora’s house who wasn’t a thief, that she couldn’t seem to form any words, even as Sora hastily pulled her babysitting fee from her pocket and pushed her out the door.

As soon as the door closed, Sora said, “I need to check on something and then you need to explain what just happened in detail.  Depending on the explanation, I might still kick your ass for that kiss.”

Laughing lightly, Kagari told her, “I have no doubt that you’d try.”

Pausing on her way to the stairs, Sora looked at him over her shoulder to ask, “But I wouldn’t do any better against you than I did against those thugs, would I?”

“Sorry, but no.”  At the darkening of Sora’s eyes, Kagari seemed to realise that this was an issue that really bothered Sora and hastily added, “But you did better than most humans that try to go up against us, both tonight and the night that we met.”

Sighing sadly at his attempts to cheer her up, Sora walked up the stairs to her old room, now Yui’s room, to make sure that Asa had put her to bed and she hadn’t climbed out of her crib.  As she looked down at her daughter, she could see that Yui had, as usual, rolled against one of the sides of the crib with her blanket tangled around her.

After the crazy night that she had had, Sora relished in the ability to just stand there and watch her daughter for a few minutes, glad that she hadn’t died on the street and left Yui alone, and that she’d still be able to see her daughter grow up.

As she thought more about how close she had come to being killed, Sora wondered if she should distance herself from Kagari.  Even if he had a good excuse for the kiss, it was obvious that he’d had some type of connection to those girls earlier, and she couldn’t help but wonder if that connection would put Yui in danger.

Sora was startled out of her thoughts by a quiet voice asking, “So is that Yui?”

Swallowing down her surprised yelp so as not to wake Yui, Sora instead said softly, “Yes.”  As though testing how he would respond to the news, Sora added, “This is my daughter, Yui.”

Apparently taking the introduction as an invitation, Kagari stepped into the room until he was just slightly behind Sora and looking into the crib.  When he didn’t say anything, just kept staring into the crib, Sora took that as his response to the statement and, ignoring her own feelings of rejection, said viciously, “You don’t have to stick around.  It’s not like she’s your kid, and I’ve been doing just fine with her for the last few years, so don’t feel obligated to stick around just because you want into my pants.  I’m sure there are much easier ways-”

Kagari grabbed her by the shoulders and cut her off.  “I already told you that I’m not here for sex.  And, while it wasn’t just one kiss that carried no obligation, I don’t mind the child.  I’m just not used to seeing them.”  As Sora continued to look at him warily, though he could spot a trace of hope in her eyes, Kagari said softly, “Why don’t we go back downstairs and I’ll explain the kiss and everything else that’s happened tonight?”

“I thought I told you to stay down there, too,” she snapped at him, before immediately checking to see whether or not she had woken Yui.  Seeing her daughter’s even breaths continue, Sora turned back to him.

“I was going to, but after you were gone for almost thirty minutes, I started to get worried.  And I was also hoping that you might have bandages somewhere,” Kagari explained evenly.

Sora was surprised that she had watched Yui for so long, but she also knew that she had done it in the past when she was stressed.  As the two walked out of the room, Sora was flooded with guilt that she hadn’t thought to treat what were obviously bad burns, even though he had gotten them protecting her.  Which also reminded her about some of the questions that she had.

“You found your way up here easily enough, so I assume that you can get back down to the living room by yourself, right?  I’ll grab the first aid kit and be down soon.”

As she gathered the burn ointment and bandages, Sora tried to figure out what she wanted to grill Kagari about first.  Should she ask him about the kiss?  Or were the flames and crazy chicks more important?  What about why he was burned when she was pretty sure he was controlling those flames?

As though sensing all of the questions bubbling up inside her, Kagari lifted a hand and said, “I know that you have a lot of questions, so why don’t I start with what happened tonight, since I’m sure that’s what you’re most concerned about, and then I’ll explain the rest of it.  Though I should warn you that if I do things in that order, some of it won’t make sense to you immediately.”

Seeing that Sora gave no complaint other than telling him she couldn’t treat him with his shirt on, Kagari began.  “Tonight I honestly was only going to help you carry your groceries because I still hadn’t decided what kind of person you are and I didn’t want to emerge until I was sure.  But when I fought against Mitsuki and Mitsuha, my power became unstable and, combined with the heat from my reaction with you, I wasn’t able to keep it under control long enough to beat them.  I kissed you because I was told that when I got an Ashikabi, my powers would stabilize, which seems to be the truth since I can control my flames now.”

Sora interrupted, “So then it was your intention to have a relationship with me all along?”

While the question was asked with a neutral tone, Kagari could tell by how Sora refused to look at him and how tense her body looked.  He said carefully, “When I first began to react to you, I knew that you had the potential to be my Ashikabi, but I needed to know what kind of person you are before I could let that happen, and that was my only intention at the time.  The bond between an Ashikabi and Sekirei can take many forms, varying from lovers to parent and child.”

“So, me potentially becoming your . . . Ashikabi,” Sora began, stumbling over the odd word, “wouldn’t necessarily mean that I would be your lover if I agree to it?”

Kagari tried to figure out a way to break the news to her gently, but eventually realised that he’d just have to do it like a band aid.  “There is no potentially about it anymore.  When I kissed you, you became my Ashikabi, and that bond can only be broken by death.”

Displeased at having her choice in the matter taken away, but also knowing that Kagari did have a good reason to do it, she asked, “And the other part of my question?” though she felt that she had an idea of what his answer would be from the way that he hadn’t answered immediately.

“Er, it is possible for the bond to have different forms, but most of the time . . . well, most of the time it is a mating bond.”  Seeing Sora tense, he quickly added, “But it’s not like it’s a requirement.  We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

Briefly wondering if that meant he wanted to, Sora asked about the other events of tonight.

“Ah, the girl that you protected was an unwinged Sekirei who was being hunted by those twins you saw in order to be added to Mikogami’s collection,” Kagari told her with a sneer.  At her raised eyebrow, he explained, “Mikogami is an Ashikabi who forcibly wings Sekirei.  And since it’s a lifelong bond for the Sekirei, they’re stuck with him after he catches and wings them.”

“And why does he want to do that?”

“Well, that’s where I should probably start at the beginning,” Kagari said before he sighed.  “The full explanation is a bit long, and I can tell that we’re both tired, so do you mind if I give you the short version?  Knowing that bastard, he’ll probably fill in whatever blanks I leave whenever he gets the time to come and harass us.”

Wondering who Kagari was talking about, Sora nodded.

“The corporation MBI is run by a madman named Minaka.  He’s put together a last man standing competition in which Sekirei like myself and those girls you saw earlier are being forced to participate.  Sekirei are basically aliens.  We resemble humans, but, as you’ve already seen, we all have abilities that no human can ever even dream of having.  In general, there are some like me and can control an element, and others like the twins earlier who just have enhanced combat skills with a single weapon, though we all have greater speed and strength than any human.  Possibly with the exception of that girl you rescued earlier.

“But we can’t use our full power until we find an Ashikabi, a type of human who has special DNA which, when we gain access to through, basically, kissing them, will allow us to fight with all of our strength rather than the portion of it that we use when we are unemerged.  These Ashikabi are just like other humans, with the exception of their ability to make Sekirei emerge.  However, there is a way for Sekirei to identify a single Ashikabi.

“When a Sekirei gets close to a certain Ashikabi, our bodies feel hot, as though we have a fever.  This only happens with a single Ashikabi and we Sekirei are taught that that person is our ‘destined one,’ and, for the most part, when a Sekirei is bound to the Ashikabi they react to, they usually do find happiness.”

As Sora finished wrapping most of Kagari’s torso in bandages, she sat back to try to absorb all of the information that he was throwing at her, which, honestly, made her feel like she really was insane.  Kagari stayed quiet while Sora mulled over things, but eventually she had to ask, “So then, that night we first met . . .”

Sora tailed off, uncertain of how to ask, but Kagari quickly understood and explained, “That first night in the club, I reacted to you, but I didn’t want to wing myself to you immediately in case you turned out to be the same sort of Ashikabi as Mikogami.”

“So you thought that I’d go out and take other people’s free will just to get some power?” Sora asked, bemused.  As Kagari started to sweat, she sighed and said, “Well, I guess I can’t blame you for not trusting a complete stranger.”

Smiling gently, Kagari said, “Yes, you’ve certainly already shown how much you like the idea of trusting people you don’t know.”

Sora spent a few minutes trying to figure out what she wanted to ask him about next, but was cut off by a large yawn.  Realising that she was drop dead tired, she stood up and started to lead Kagari to the door when she swayed, causing Kagari to once again carry her.

Sora tried to protest about how much it must hurt Kagari to have her pressing against his burns like this, but he just brushed her off, saying that he could handle it and carrying her to her room.  When they arrived, Sora just kicked off her shoes and collapsed on her bed, barely even noticing when Kagari climbed in next to her.

* * *

 

“Damn, that really happened,” Sora exclaimed in the present, shocked by the truth of that statement.


	5. Chapter 5

After taking a few moments to come to grips with the realisation that there really were supernatural beings in this town and she had one in her bed at that very moment, Sora finally managed to find her manners and ask Kagari in a mostly calm voice, “What are you doing in my bed?”

Still reluctant to really wake up, Kagari took a few seconds to work up the energy to push himself into a reclining position that would allow him to see Sora’s face.  When he did though, he seemed to realise that he was in deep shit and quickly explained, “I was too tired to go home last night and you didn’t show me where the guest room is.  Since I figured that you wouldn’t like me snooping around, I decided to just sleep here.”

Struggling to calm down, Sora reminded herself that her daughter was probably still sleeping, and any loud noise would wake her up.  Before she could yell at Kagari for his appearance in her bed, Sora pulled up short and looked at her clock.

_ It’s already eight.  What the hell?  Yui always wakes up at five and wants breakfast.  On a lucky day, I get to sleep till six. _

As she tried to figure out what was going on, Sora realised that she could hear the TV on.  Sharply turning back to Kagari, she asked, “Did you watch TV last night?”

“Hm?” Kagari muttered sleepily.  “What’s this about?”

“Fuck, a burglar and a pervert all on the same day,” Sora spat out as she jumped over Kagari and reached for her nightstand drawer.  Finding her father’s gun there, she started hurrying downstairs with a bemused Kagari on her heels.

But when she finally got to the living room, she ended up pulling her gun on none other than her pint sized neighbor.  “Woah, let’s talk for a minute here, Sora-nee.  I know that I shouldn’t have come in here without permission, but don’t you think this is going just a bit too far?”

Sighing, Sora tried to figure out whether she was relieved that there was no thief in her house, or annoyed that she was surrounded by people who had boundary issues.  Lowering her gun, she finally asked, “What are you doing here, Asa?”

“Huh?  Oh, since you came home with that guy last night, I figured that you’d be pretty tired by the time he left, so I came over so that Yui-chan wouldn’t wake you up.  And speaking of, how was last night?  You haven’t been with anyone in forever, so that guy must’ve been even better than he looked for you to-”  Asa let loose a small but loud shriek as she seemed to finally notice the man standing behind Sora.

Sora, despite her long list of annoyances this morning, couldn’t help but giggle at finally seeing Asa stunned speechless.  Kagari, thinking that hearing the happy sound from his Ashikabi was worth the early morning, said lightly, “Well, I don’t know how good I look to you, but I do think that I’m-”  He was cut off by Sora elbowing him in the side.

_ I really need to start remembering that she can still pack a punch, even if she’s not a Sekirei. _

Turning to Asa, Sora hastily said, “Don’t listen to him, Asa.  Nothing happened last night.”

“Yeah, right.  Sora-nee, I’m in middle school, not elementary school, I can put two and two together.”

“Obviously not, since you’re still coming up with eight.”  Sora gritted her teeth before sighing.  “Look, Asa, I’ll explain everything to you later, but right now Kagari and I really need to talk about some things, so-”

“So you’re Kagari-san, then?  I’m Asa Akiyama, Sora-nee’s neighbor.  Y’know, you’re the first guy I’ve ever seen Sora-nee bring home, not that that’s much of a surprise since, even before she had Yui, her father always made sure that all the people she dated knew to treat her like a lady.  But you seem a lot better than those other guys.  So how did you guys meet anyway?  I hope that you’ve been treating her well.”

Slightly taken aback, Kagari said slowly, “I can assure you that I would never treat Sora with disrespect, Asa-san.”

Seeing that Asa was getting ready to set up a second barrage of questions, Sora picked up Yui’s empty cup of milk and asked, “Did that silly girl forget to feed you?”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault.  She didn’t want to eat until you got up,” Asa defended.

“Is that true, Yui?”

“Yeah, I wanna eat with Mommy,” Yui said proudly.

Smiling gently, Sora said, “Then now that I’m up, why don’t we get something to eat?  I can make you some cereal, or I could still make us some waffles if you want those instead?”

“Waffles,” Yui said goofily.

“I second that,” Asa shouted happily.

“I don’t recall asking you,” Sora stated drily.

“What, you mean that you’d send a cute little middle schooler like me out to starve on the street?” Asa pouted.

“You live less than twenty feet away from, I’m pretty sure you’d make it.”

“Yeah, but then I’d just starve there.  You know I don’t cook.”

“Last time I checked, cereal wasn’t cooked, and your mother is home to cook for you.”

“But a growing girl like me needs more than cereal and the burnt toast Oka-chan makes,” Asa said while showing her puppy dog eyes.

Shaking her head, Sora told her, “You’re on dish duty, Asa.”

Cheering, Asa followed Sora to the kitchen, pestering her about last night.  Kagari stayed leaning against the wall, trying to figure out what just happened, and whether or not Sora had actually forgotten that he was in the house.

Deciding that, if nothing else, he’d have to get along with the child, Kagari walked towards the couch and saw that the girl was humming as she watched a certain large yellow bear on the TV.  When she turned to look up at him, Kagari was slightly surprised when he saw clear blue eyes like Sora’s looking up at him.

_ Well, she is her mother, it makes sense that they’d have one or two things in common.  Or maybe more than that _ , Kagari thought as he realised that the child in front of him had already started to resemble his Ashikabi.   _ Well, that’s life for you. _

Kagari smiled.  “Hi, I’m Kagari.  What’s your name?”

Still staring, she pointed at him and said, “Mommy said I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.”

_ Yeah, and it’ll really help when you tell them that instead of running away. _  “Well honey, I’m not exactly a stranger.  See, I’m a friend of your mommy’s and since I’m going to be here a lot, I thought it would be good if I could be your friend too.”

As the girl kept staring at him, Kagari couldn’t help but think that he would have to teach her how she really should act when a strange person walked up and talked to her.

“I’m Yui.  Mommy’s never brought a friend home before.”

_ Oh well, at least it kept Sora from murdering me for scaring her daughter.  And just where did she get that gun anyway? _

Kagari shook the thoughts from his head as questions to ask a later time.  “That’s too bad, but she does bring Asa-chan over, right?”

“Yeah, but Asa-nee doesn’t count.  Mommy said that friends like Asa-nee are family.  But then she never said why Asa-nee doesn’t live with us if we’re family.”

Chuckling at the little girl’s confused face, Kagari said, “Well, I think that what your mommy means is that while Asa-chan has become a part of your family, Asa-chan also has other family that she should live with.”

“Then we’re not important enough?” Yui asked, depressed.

“Not at all,” he hurriedly assured her.  “What it means is that Asa-chan knows that she’ll still be a part of her family even if she’s not around all the time.  So that means that she can spend time with the other people who are important to her so that they don’t feel bad either.  After all, you’d be sad if Asa-chan started ignoring you to spend all her time with other people, right?”  At Yui’s nod, he said, “So she can’t spend all her time with just you without making other people sad.  But she still loves you.”  Kagari noticed that he could smell waffles coming from the kitchen and said, “And on that note, I do believe that breakfast is ready.  So why don’t we go see what Asa-chan and your mommy are up to?”

Kagari couldn’t help but smile at Yui’s squeals and, noticing her looking up at him expectantly with her arms raised, he scooped her up and walked towards the kitchen.  With a shout of “Strawberries!” Yui jumped out of his arms and ran to where Asa was putting some fruits on a stack of fresh waffles.

Laughing slightly, Kagari turned to see Sora looking at him with an odd look on her face.  After a few seconds of staring at each other, he walked over to question her about that look.

Before he had the chance, Sora quietly said, “You didn’t have to do that.”

_ Didn’t have to do what?  Take her home?  Is it a problem that I stayed for breakfast?  But she didn’t tell me to leave, and she definitely didn’t have a problem doing that in the past. _  As Kagari came up with a number of other theories, he noticed Sora looking towards where Yui was begging strawberries out of Asa.

“I didn’t do it because I had to.  She’s a nice kid.”  When he saw Sora staring at him, Kagari tried to think of a way to explain.  He couldn’t exactly say that he liked children, since he’s never gone out of his way to talk to them before now, so he opted to tell her the root of his reason.  “For better or worse, you’re my Ashikabi now.  That means that we’re tied together, and, by extension, I have a tie to Yui.  I wanted to talk to her.”

Sora swallowed thickly before saying, “Okay, I’ll try out this whole ‘Ashikabi’ thing, for a little while.  But it’s not permanent.  If it doesn’t work out, or if it gets too dangerous for you to be here, I’ll make you leave, got it?”

Realising that it was as close as Sora was willing to come to admitting that she was his Ashikabi at the time, Kagari just smiled and helped her set the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I updated because I went back to school a couple weeks ago, and my Calculus class is hell. So it will probably be a while until I'm able to update again, but I'll do what I can.
> 
> And on that note, I'm considering which Sekirei to add to Sora's flock. I've already decided on one, and I'm considering a couple others. I wouldn't include all of them because I don't want her to have some kind of huge flock, but I'll probably put in a couple. The ones I'm considering are Taki, Shiina, Tsukiumi, Kaho, and Uzume (though I probably won't since I really like the relationship between her and Chiho). So if you like one of those Sekirei and want them to be included, leave it in a comment, or if you want me to put in a different Sekirei, write that down. This isn't the end all list of Sekirei, I'll put others in if someone recommends one to me that I think would be good.


	6. Chapter 6

After breakfast, in which Asa had been shockingly quiet as she dug in, Sora put Asa to work washing the dishes by hand.

"But why do I have to do it by hand?" Asa whined loudly. "You have a dishwasher right there."

"Because you came in her without an invitation and annoyed me," Sora said without a hint of remorse. Seeing Asa start to open her mouth, Sora added, "And if you don't get to work, I'll only make enough food for your grandmother this week."

Satisfied that Asa wouldn't be making anymore noise for a while, Sora turned to her refrigerator and realised that she needed to buy more of, well, everything. Turning to see Kagari carrying some plates to Asa, Sora couldn't help but think, _Where did it all go? If he eats like that everyday, he shouldn't be able to fit inside my house._

Noticing her stare, Kagari cocked his head at her curiously. Deciding that wondering how it was that Kagari wasn't the size of a truck wasn't the most important thing for her to be worrying about, Sora said, "Okay, you people have completely eaten me out of house and home, so while Asa is repenting for that right now, you will be coming with me, Kagari."

"What about me, Mommy?" Yui pouted hopefully.

Crouching down, Sora said, "You will be doing a very important job for me. You're going to stay here and make sure that Asa doesn't so much as touch the dishwasher."

Somewhat mollified, Yui said, "And we'll still go to the park later, right?"

Recalling that she had promised to go to the park on her day off, she smiled and said, "Of course. But first Kagari and I need to go out and you need to watch Asa for me."

Chuckling at how cheerful Yui looked at the thought, Sora hurried to grab her wallet and find some shoes, knowing that if she took a shower before going to the store, it would get crowded. If there was anything Sora hated more than grocery shopping, it was doing so in the middle of a crowd.

As Sora and Kagari started walking, Kagari couldn't help commenting, "I thought you didn't like me carrying your bags."

"I don't like pity," Sora corrected. "This is payment. And while we're on the subject, have you been on some kind of crazy diet or something to keep the girls interested in you?"

Slightly chagrined, Kagari said, "No, I just have a high metabolism. All the Sekirei do. I'm pretty sure we eat more in one meal than most humans eat in a day."

Sora snorted. "Obviously." Seeing the opening, Sora opened her mouth to ask him another question when her cell phone rang.

"Hello, Sora Miyamoto. You have been chosen to compete in an exciting new game called the Sekirei Pla-" Kagari quickly grabbed the phone and turned off the power.

Before Sora got the chance to question him, Kagari's phone began to ring. "Persistent little sociopath," Kagari muttered as he picked up.

"Now that wasn't very nice, Homura-kun," came the same voice as earlier.

_Huh, this guy must have some set of lungs. The phone doesn't even need to be on speaker and yet I can hear him loud and clear._

"As I was saying earlier, Sora-kun, you have been chosen to take part in the Sekirei Plan. Obviously, this is a secret plan and if you were to tell outsiders, things would become rather unpleasant."

Sora's blood ran slightly cold at that cheerful threat on her life. Nevertheless, when she saw Kagari making a move to end the call, she took the phone from him.

"Ah, but I suppose I don't mind if you tell that little girl of yours. Yui, was it?"

Hearing her daughter's name come out of his mouth, Sora felt fury course through her body. "Now listen to me, you psychotic bastard. If you ever so much as lay a hand on my daughter-"

"Now, now, Sora-kun, you shouldn't be saying things you don't mean, especially to someone who's doing you such a large favor."

Realizing that antagonising a man who may or may not be able to kill her daughter, Sora gritted her teeth and said,"Favor?"

"Yes, most contestants in this game aren't allowed to tell anyone about the game. But in your case, it would be rather impractical for me to expect the same of you. That being said, if the child should mention our little secret to anyone, you would both have to be elim-"

Apparently having heard enough, Kagari once more made a grab for the phone. Sora opened her mouth to complain only to see the phone burst into flames in the palm of his hand. Quickly changing her question, Sora breathed out, "How?"

"Ah, I guess I didn't explain things that well last night, did I?" Kagari asked. Reaching out to tug Sora forward, Kagari began explaining. "This might be a little confusing but please bear with me for a little while and it should make sense eventually. Like I've already told you, Sekirei aren't human. We came from another planet and were unfortunately found by that bastard who just called us.

"Since then, he's used the technology on our ship to make himself rich. And he's used the power that that technology has given him in an attempt to control the Sekirei in this city, forcing us to fight each other down to the last one.

"The reason that he's so interested in it, I'm pretty sure, is because of our powers. All Sekireis are physically stronger and faster than a human."

"Now wait just a minute," Sora cut in. "I saw that girl last night, and she definitely wasn't all that strong."

"Yes, well, I'm not too sure about her, in all honesty," Kagari admitted. "I know that that girl is a Sekirei, but she seems to be some kind of anomaly. As you've said, she doesn't seem to have the strength or durability that the rest of us so, and even her power is weak and ineffective."

"Power?"

"Every Sekirei, including that girl that you saved last night, has some kind of power that is unique to them. Though those powers can be classified into various types. For example, there are elemental Sekirei like me. We can control one of the natural elements. As you've already seen, I can control fire, and I use it when I fight the others. Similarly, there are other Sekirei who fight with electricity and water.

"Then, there are the brain Sekireis. They are generally the physically weakest of all of us, with the exception of the girl from last night. Their abilities basically allow them to control technology. They usually gather information through computers, but I've heard that they are able to work with other types of technology. They are also excellent strategists, so, while they can't fight themselves, beating an Ashikabi who has winged one is rather difficult.

"The rest of the Sekirei are generally like the two that you saw last night. They have extreme skill in the use of a specific type of weapon, which is usually different for each of them. There are also Sekirei who fight barehanded using martial arts. The odd thing is that, just like the rest of us, they don't need to be taught how to use their weapons or martial arts, they're born with inherent knowledge of how to use them.

"There are also Sekirei who don't specifically fall into those three categories, such as that girl you saved last night. Her only ability is being able to scream."

"She can scream?" Sora said doubtfully.

Laughing lightly, Kagari said, "Like I said, she's a strange one. But her scream does have the effect of knocking out her opponent, so I guess it's not entirely useless."

"It didn't seem to be doing her much good last night."

"Yeah well, from what I've seen, she doesn't seem to be able to stay calm enough to really use it all that well. Honestly, I'm not sure how long she'll be able to last in this sick game, even after she's winged."

"Why do you play it then, if it can kill you?" Sora asked curiously. Honestly, it had been bothering her ever since Kagari had first explained things, wondering why they were all fighting.

Sighing, Kagari said, "Well, I suppose that part of it is our upbringing. Like I told you, that bastard found us and he raised us to believe that we exist to fight. But even those of us who don't completely buy into that mindset or enjoy fighting, well, we still have to fight."

"But why? Who is that guy anyway?"

"He is Hiroto Minaka, the CEO of MBI."

"That crazy bastard? You're sure?"

"Unfortunately. When he found our ship, he used our technology to build his company and make his money. That's part of the reason why we have to fight. You probably don't know this, but he employs a private army. One of their duties is to kill any Ashikabi or MBI employee who tells outsiders about his Sekirei Plan."

"But you looked as though you'd be able to take on, well maybe not an entire army, but at least a troop by yourself," Sora stated.

"That isn't wrong. Most Sekireis, particularly after emerging, would be able to take on just about any army on this planet. But there's another way that Minaka controls us: the Discipline Squad. They are a group of Sekirei who serve as that bastard's enforcers, and have orders to kill any Sekirei or Ashikabi who tries to leave this city."

"So this bastard is basically forcing you to fight if you want to live? That's barbaric," Sora protested, but paled as she realised something. "Wait, this Discipline Squad thing, they wouldn't have any reason to attack Yui, would they?"

"So long as you follow Minaka's rules, that is staying in Shinto Teito and keeping the Plan a secret, you shouldn't have too much to worry about in that area. Although, while we're on the subject of danger, there's something that I've been meaning to ask you."

"Oh?" Sora said, still trying to recover from the relief that her daughter's life wasn't currently in danger.

"Can I move in with you?"

Even though Kagari had expected some kind of explosion, he still wasn't entirely prepared for Sora's reaction. For a few seconds it appeared that she hadn't even heard him, but when his words finally processed, Sora almost fell over. "What!?"

Stifling the urge to rub his ears after Sora's screech hit them, Kagari raised his hand in a placating gesture. "Before you say anything, let me explain, okay?"

"Explain what?" Sora said at a more normal level, though still sounding rather hysterical.

"Why my moving in is a good idea," Kagari told her patiently. "But this isn't a conversation that we should have in the parking lot of a grocery store, someone might hear us. So why don't we continue this discussion after we get the food?"

Slightly numb, Sora nodded. Though the numbness didn't last long as she watched Kagari pile more and more food into their carriage. "Are you planning on feeding Minaka's army at my house or something?"

"Like I said, Sekireis have a ridiculously high metabolism and even if you don't let me move in, I'll still probably be at your house fairly often. Besides, most other Sekirei live on the streets or in hotels until they find an Ashikabi."

"And you plan on inviting them to live in my house?"

Glancing around, Kagari said, "If you don't want to actually invite Minaka's soldiers to you house, I suggest that we also save this conversation for later."

Sighing, Sora thought that she should start writing her questions down so she'd be ready to grill Kagari whenever they got a moment alone together. Even though that guy had said that Yui was allowed to know about Sekirei, Sora didn't want to risk her blurting out any information she was told, even if Sora knew that no one would really believe her.

Looking at the mountain of groceries in her cart, Sora realised that she'd have to use what little money she had saved up to afford it all. This Sekirei Plan bullshit was already looking to be more trouble than it was worth.

At the register though, Sora was surprised when Kagari pulled out a shiny black credit card to pay for everything. On their way out, with Kagari carrying the bulk of the groceries, Sora said, "I knew that hosts are paid well, but are you sure it's a good idea to splurge like this? I could have paid you know, after all, this is my food."

"It's fine, Sora. I didn't actually pay for it." Seeing the confusion on his Ashikabis face, Kagari explained, "When Sekirei are released from the labs at MBI, they're also given a credit card with an unlimited balance. Takami said that they gave them to us so that our Ashikabis can focus on playing that bastard's game, rather than spending all of their time working."

"Wait, so you can buy anything with this card, and MBI will foot the bill? Then why are you a host? Do you just enjoy all the women fawning over you?" Sora said, slightly bitter.

Deciding that he'd have to wait for Sora to actually tell him what had happened in her past before he'd be able to do anything about it, Kagari said, "Actually, I worked as a host because I wanted to find a female Ashikabi. For whatever reason, the Ashikabi gene most commonly appears in men, so I hoped that if I stayed somewhere where only women went, I might be winged by a women."

"So that's why you kept following me around," Sora stated as though it answered a question.

"In part, yes. But if it makes you feel any better, I resigned a few days ago." Seeing Sora's surprise, Kagari said, "I already completed my goal when I found you, and, as you said, I didn't really need the money I was making, though Miya would probably have been irritated with me."

"Your girlfriend?" Sora asked, telling herself that she had no reason to be jealous, though Kagari's slight smile said that she wasn't succeeding.

"My landlady. Another reason I worked at the club was because Miya refuses to accept MBI credit cards since she hates Minaka."

"You two must get along well," Sora commented before realising something. "Wait, so then you have nowhere to stay if I don't let you move in?" Sora asked incredulously.

Laughing Kagari said, "Not at all. I enjoy staying with Miya because we've known each other for a long time, and I doubt that she'd actually kick me out, even after my savings ran out. And even if she did, with my card, I could stay just about anywhere I want to." Kagari continued much more seriously, "The reason that I asked is because your house is right on the border."

"Border of what?" Sora asked while a feeling of dread swept through her at Kagari's sudden mood change.

"Right now, there are three Ashikabis who, for all intents and purposes, have claimed territories in Shinto Teito. The city has basically been divided into four parts, with all but the northern part having been claimed by one of the three."

"Why haven't they taken over the North?"

"Because there's someone who lives up here that even that bastard Minaka is afraid of," Kagari said with a slight smirk. "As a result of that, Sekireis who don't want to be forcibly winged usually escape to the North. In case you hadn't figured it out, Mikogami is the Ashikabi who controls the South, and he'll routinely send out his Sekireis to hunt for any unwinged Sekireis in his territory, or outside it if he thinks he can get away with it.

"Then there's Higa of the East. He's just as bad as Mikogami, and he forces any Ashikabis he finds in his sector to serve under him if they don't want their Sekireis to be terminated."

Not sure whether she wanted to know the answer or not, Sora asked, "What about the West? And what does this have to do with my house?"

"I don't actually know much about the Ashikabi who lives there, but, from what I've seen, he hasn't forcibly winged any Sekirei. And it matters because your house is right on the edge of the border between the North and the East, which means that Higa might attack you."

"But I've lived there all my life. Why would it matter now?" Sora complained.

Kagari stopped walking to face his Ashikabi. "Sora, Higa never had a reason to care about you until now. But I'm a single number, one of the strongest of all of the Sekirei in this city, and I know that Higa wouldn't mind winging me. Even now, he may try to make you one of his subordinates so that he can control me. Or he may decide to deactivate me and kill you so that there won't be any risk of you becoming strong enough to challenge him. And while your house is technically in the North, it's close enough to his territory that he may decide to take the risk of attacking it."

Swallowing thickly, Sora asked, "And if I let you move in?"

"He might still try to attack, but I'd be able to protect you. Honestly, it would be better if you moved farther north, or maybe even into Miya's inn-"

"I'm not moving," Sora cut in angrily. "These people are threatening you, they're threatening me, and they're threatening my daughter. I'm not going to give them any more power by changing how I live my life."

Glad that he had chosen Sora as his Ashikabi, Kagari said, "So then, can I move in? It'll be less of a change than you moving out."

Sora sighed and said, "I can help you move your stuff on Tuesday," before starting walking. After a few seconds, Sora asked curiously, "Why did you want to move in so badly anyway? You seemed to care about it for more than just wanting to protect us."

For a few minutes, Sora thought that Kagari wouldn't answer her. Finally though, he said quietly, "It's normal."

"You asking to move into near strangers' houses?"

Sighing, Kagari reluctantly explained, "Sekireis don't exist. We don't have birth certificates or social security numbers. The only way that we can work is if we're paid under the table, and no one wants to rent or sell us a house because the only source of income we have is the MBI card. Because of that, most Sekireis move in with their Ashikabis when they're winged because it's the only place they have to go, really."

"That's terrible," Sora sympathised. "But I thought you had an apartment."

Kagari was really wishing that she wasn't this curious, but he also knew that she'd never open up if he didn't do it first. "There's also the fact that, by Sekirei standards, you're my wife now. While I have no intention of acting on that status," Kagari hurriedly assured her, "it's still kind of expected for me to move in with you, or at least live in the same home as you."

"You want someone to really be your wife, don't you?" Sora questioned, wondering whether or not Kagari would be able to accept that that would never happen.

"Not in the way your thinking," Kagari said softly. "All Sekireis long for an Ashikabi to wing us, it's part of what we are. And I was told a long time ago that I'd probably never have that because my powers were so unstable. It was . . . lonely, thinking I'd never have that bond. And we Sekirei tend to be very . . . physical in our relationships with others, not sexually but-"

"That's why you were in my bed this morning, isn't it?" Sora asked. Seeing him nod, Sora sighed. "I'm not your wife, okay? I'm not going to sleep with you, but, if all you want is someone to cuddle, I can handle that." Seeing Kagari staring at her, Sora bristled saying, "I mean it, no funny business. And it's only for a little while, you hear me? It's not forever."

Sora's rant was stopped by Kagari's light laugh. Smiling slightly at the sound, Sora said, "You also mentioned that other Sekirei would probably be at the house earlier. Why?"

"Sekirei can only be winged to one Ashikabi, but an Ashikabi can have multiple Sekirei. That's how Mikogami and Higa have become so powerful-"

"I'm not going to do that!" Sora protested.

"I know," Kagari said calmly. "But do you remember when I told you that I was reacting to you? Ashikabis give off a sort of, aura, I guess you'd call it, that attracts certain Sekirei to them. And the more Sekirei you wing, the stronger that aura becomes."

"So now that I've winged you," Sora started slowly.

"It's more likely that other Sekireis will be drawn to you," Kagari finished. "And since you managed to wing a single number like me, it's even more likely that you'll attract other Sekireis looking to become yours."

"And you're okay with that?" Sora asked. "I mean, from what you've told me, I'm kind of your wife, I guess."

Slightly touched, Kagari said, "I'm not going to say that I'll be happy to have other Sekireis winged to you, but I don't mind it. It's my goal to have all of the Sekireis be winged to their chosen Ashikabis, and I won't stop them from doing so."

Sora decided to ask Kagari about his "goal" at a later time while she unlocked the door to find Asa still grumbling at the sink and a hyper child practically vibrating in front of the TV. Before anyone could ask her for anything, Sora answered all of their questions. "Yui, we will go to the park after I take a shower. Asa, you still have to finish the dishes, and Kagari, one you've put the groceries away, your punishment is officially over."

While the younger girls pouted, Kagari just laughed as he completed his "punishment."


	7. Chapter 7

Sora rushed through her shower, trying not to ruin her entire day with her daughter by worrying about the chaos that her life was falling into.  Roughly towel drying her hair, Sora looked through her closet, smiling when she recalled Kagari practically cringing upon seeing that she only owned jeans and t-shirts, with a couple dresses thrown in, though they were few and far between.

_For a guy that’s supposed to be fighting for his life, he sure does like looking pretty._

As she walked down the stairs, pulling her hair into its usual ponytail, Sora noticed that she couldn’t hear Asa’s voice, which meant that either washing the dishes had actually been enough to work the girl to death, or she had gone home.  When Sora reached the living room, her suspicions were confirmed as she saw Kagari sitting on the couch with Yui next to him.

Smiling at the sound of her daughter laughing at whatever cartoon she was watching, Sora couldn’t help but notice the slight warmth that blossomed in her chest at the cozy scene.  Seeming to sense that he was being watched, Kagari turned his head to see Sora staring at him.  Instead of commenting he said, “That was fast.  I expected you to take a little while, so Yui-chan and I decided to catch up on some Pokemon.”

“Pokemon, huh?  And here I had you down for a Yu-Gi-Oh kind of guy,” Sora said just before Yui, with a squeal of “Mommy!”, came charging towards her.  It was only with an ease that came from all of the practice that Sora had gotten since Yui’d started walking that she was able to catch the little girl and hold her against her chest.

“So then, are you ready to go the park?” Sora asked, already looking around for where her daughter had thrown off her shoes after her last little expedition.  Spotting one miniature sneaker hiding half under the couch, Sora started scanning around for the other one while she helped Yui put on her first shoe.  Just as she was about to start looking around the kitchen, another one of Yui’s favorite spots to kick her shoes off, Sora suddenly found a shoe hanging in front of her face.  “Looking for this?” Kagari asked, amused at his Ashikabi’s apparent inability to keep her house organised.  That wasn’t to say that the house was at all messy or dirty, but things always seemed to end up piled up on top of each other, resulting in numerous searches, even in the short time that Kagari had been here.  Just that morning it had taken Sora almost thirty minutes to find her cell phone, and even longer to find the sweatshirt that she’d worn the night before.

Catching onto what Kagari was thinking about, Sora shot him a mild glare and said, “You know, why don’t you try to keep a two-year-old’s things in order?  Then we can talk.”

“Oh, I’m sure it must be tough,” Kagari said.  “But weren’t you searching for some of your things just this morning?  And it seemed to take you quite some time, if I recall.”

Blushing Sora said, “Well, that’s because I was distracted last night.  Suddenly finding out aliens exist isn’t exactly something that happens to me everyday.”

Knowing that she hadn't convinced Kagari by the grin that remained on his face, Sora grabbed Yui’s shoe with a huff before asking, “So while Yui and I are having a girls’ day out, what are you going to be doing, Kagari?”

Not at all surprised or insulted that he wasn't invited, Kagari still needed a moment to think of everything he needed to do and what could wait for another day.  “I'll have to buy a cell phone since my last phone met its end and then I'll probably look around for other Sekirei.  Where are the two of you going anyway?”

“Just to the park near the center of the city.  And maybe on the way back we'll stop for some ice cream,” Sora said with a conspiratorial look at Yui.

Upon realising exactly where the park that Sora was going was located, Kagari tried to think of any way he might be able to convince Sora to let him come with them.  After a moment though, he recalled Sora’s determination that she wouldn't change her life to accommodate the Sekirei Plan and decided to simply get a phone as quickly as he could and then watch the two of them from afar.  Technically that park was in Mikogami’s territory, but considering how close it was to the border and how recently Sora had become his Ashikabi, she should be safe enough for a little while.  With that in mind, if he just stayed close to the park, he should be able to protect at least a few of his fellow Sekirei while also ensuring that his Ashikabi stayed safe.

* * *

 

And that was how Kagari found himself an hour later, standing on top of the same building that he'd been returning to every fifteen minutes to make sure that nothing happened to Sora.  In all honesty, if he'd had any other Ashikabi, he would have checked on her much more often, perhaps even staying on the roof constantly, but Kagari was able to content himself with the fact that with Sora’s combat skills, she should be able to at least hold off a Sekirei for at least a few minutes, so long as she didn’t run into one of the Single Numbers.

As he started to turn to do another sweep of the area, Kagari couldn’t help but laugh lightly as he watched Sora chase after her daughter in what looked like a spirited game of tag.  After a very short chase, he watched Sora lightly scoop Yui into her arms while twisting so that when the two of them fell, they landed on Sora’s back.

As he continued to watch the two of them play together, Kagari realised that some of the happiness that he was feeling was actually Sora’s being transmitted to him through the bond that he had with her.  Startled, Kagari recalled that sometimes the emotions of a Sekirei and their Ashikabi could be felt by each other when their bond was strong, but he hadn’t realised that Sora trusted him enough to actually allow him to feel even a small amount of her emotions, subconsciously or not.

Now grinning, Kagari turned and left the building he was on, not surprised that soon after, he ran into a human trying to forcibly wing a Sekirei.  Sighing as he finally lost his smile, Kagari couldn’t help but wonder where all of these information leaks were coming from, with all kinds of scum hearing about the Sekirei Plan and wanting to have their own unlimited MBI card.

* * *

 

After a few hours, Sora decided that it was time for the two of them to start heading home.  While they had bought sandwiches and ice cream when lunch rolled around, Sora knew that Yui would usually be eating dinner soon.  True to Sora’s prediction, the pair hadn’t even made it out of the park when she heard Yui’s stomach growl.

As the two of them began to walk home, Sora realised that she didn’t really feel like cooking tonight, and that, with all of the overtime shifts that she had been picking up recently, she could afford to splurge a little and grab some takeout.

_Hm, and since Asa’s mother plane left about an hour ago, I didn’t have to make them lunch.  How often does that happen?  Might as well make the most of it while it lasts._

Decision made, Sora began to think about all of the takeout places that were nearby.  As best as she could remember, there was only a Chinese restaurant and a small family owned pizza place.  Remembering that Kagari would probably be eating with them as well, Sora decided that the pizza would probably be the best bet, since if Kagari didn’t like the toppings she chose, he could always just pick them off.

* * *

 

Walking out of the pizza parlor, Sora ignored the odd looks people were giving her as she tried to balance the pizza boxes on one of her arms so that she could take Yui’s hand as they walked home.  Just as she was about to give up and try to find some other way to get home rather than walking, Sora felt the pizza boxes being lifted out of her arms.

For the second time in as many days, Sora looked up to see a certain gray haired man carrying her things.  Idly wondering if she should just start taking him with her whenever she bought food, especially since he was the one who ate most of it, Sora gave up the boxes without a fight.

Looking at the eight pizza boxes he was holding, Kagari couldn’t help but ask, “Are you expecting company tonight, Sora?”

“You’re asking that after you treated my house like an all you can eat breakfast buffet?” Sora scoffed.  “One of those pizzas is for Asa’s family, another one is for me and Yui, and the rest are for you.  If you still need more food after that, you can go and get it yourself.”

Smiling slightly at his inclusion, Kagari asked mildly, “And if I don’t eat all six pizzas?”

“Then it can go into the fridge and someone will eat it later,” Sora said with a shrug.  “But after seeing you eat this morning, I highly doubt there will be all that much left over.  Let’s get going.  Now that I’m not moving, I’m realising just how cold it is today,” Sora said with a slight shiver.  Watching Kagari put the pizzas down on a bench, Sora was about to say something about how she could carry some of them when he pulled off his jacket to reveal a white dress shirt.

“Here, you should put this on,” Kagari said as he held the jacket out towards her.  Seeing that Sora was about to protest, he added, “Don’t worry, I don’t feel the cold like other people do, so I only really wear it to keep up appearances.”

Another gust of with reminded Sora that she was too damn cold to turn down his offer.  Pulling the jacket on, Sora quickly rolled up the sleeves while thinking, _Damn, I know that just about every person above the age of twelve is taller than me, but this is just ridiculous._

Still not quite warm, Sora reached for Yui’s hand only to realise that the little girl was practically falling asleep where she stood.  Leaning down, Sora pulled her daughter onto her back and began to walk home with Kagari in tow.  Trying to distract herself from the various bursts of wind that kept heading towards her, Sora remembered Kagari’s earlier comment and asked, “Hey, what did you mean when you said the cold doesn’t affect you?”

“All Sekirei have some sort of natural protection against the cold.  It’s one of the reasons that we rarely wear concealing clothing, along with various other reasons,” Kagari said airily.  “But I tend to be able to resist it even more than the rest of them.  Takehito-san always hypothesized that it was because of my ability to control flames causing me to have some sort of internal heating system that other Sekirei lacked, which was supported by the fact that my body temperature usually hovers somewhere around one hundred and six degrees Fahrenheit, much warmer than any other Sekirei.”

“Huh,” Sora said softly, recalling all of the times she had touched Kagari and realising that, while she’d been too focused on other things at the time to really notice, he actually had felt unusually warm every time.  “So then, why did you wear a jacket today if the cold doesn’t bother you?  And who's this Takehito guy?”

“It’s become something of a habit for me to try to blend in with the humans around me, what with working as a host and all that,” Kagari explained.  “And besides, I noticed that you seem to get cold very easily.”

Blushing at the offhand statement, Sora changed the subject.  “And Takehito?”

Giving his Ashikabi a smirk that let her know that he saw through what she was doing, Kagari nevertheless said, “Takehito-san was a tuner at MBI.  Tuners are scientists who Minaka trusts to ‘adjust’ Sekirei, mostly to make our powers more controllable, among other things.  But Takehito-san was also a researcher, always trying to figure out more about the Sekirei.”

“So then he must be some kind of expert, right?” Sora asked.

“He was,” Kagari said.  “But he died a few years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Sora said, knowing the feeling of losing someone you love but still uncertain about what to say to convey her sympathy.  What could even be said to ease that kind of pain?

Smiling lightly, Kagari said, “It’s fine.  The two of us weren’t really all that close.  In all honesty, I didn’t really like him for a long time because it didn’t seem like he was trying to help us Sekirei.  I regret that now.”

Before Sora could say anything, Yui decided to speak up.  “Mommy, what’s a Sekirei?”

Internally cursing herself for not realising that as sleepy as Yui was, she was still very much aware of what was being spoken about around her, Sora tried to come up with any explanation that she could think of in order to sate Yui’s curiosity without her going around and telling everyone about it.  However, before she could come up with an answer, she saw Kagari open his mouth as though to answer her and kicked him lightly in the shin.  Ignoring the stare that he gave her, Sora finally said, “Sekirei is the name of a group of people that I’m meeting.  They’re a bit different from us, so I’m trying to learn all I can about them before I actually meet them.”

Seeing that Yui was pretty much ready to drop the subject, not that it took too much to derail a child’s thoughts, Sora shot Kagari a look that said that they’d talk about this later and, spurred on by the wind, hurried home.

* * *

 

Once home, Sora put Yui down in her highchair at the table and led Kagari into the kitchen.  Speaking softly, Sora said, “I’m sorry for kicking you.”

“That isn’t a problem.  But may I ask why?” Kagari asked.  “Minaka may be a certifiable sociopath, but he does keep his promises, albeit with some sort of hidden clause that make your life harder.  It’s part of his mentality as the ‘game master’.  So you could have just told Yui-chan the truth.”

“Hey, don’t make it sound like I lied to her Kagari.  I just didn’t tell her the whole truth,” Sora complained.  “And, first of all, I don’t trust Minaka as far as I could throw him, so his promise about letting Yui know about his goddamned plan isn’t exactly comforting to me.

“Also, even if he really meant it when he said that Yui was allowed to know, what then?  Little kids talk about everything, and Yui is always playing with the kids in the neighborhood.  What happens if she accidentally tells one of them whatever we tell her?  Should we just stand around and let Minaka send his army after my daughter?”  Sora stopped to take a breath and regain her composure.  “Look, I’m not saying that we should _lie_ to her exactly, but why don’t we tell her what she needs to know on a day by day basis?  At least until she’s old enough to understand that she can’t tell anyone what she knows about Sekirei and Ashikabi.  That way, even if she does mention something, as long as those two keywords don’t show up, we can explain away anything that she tells to her friends.”

Nodding slowly, Kagari had to admit that Sora wasn’t entirely wrong about how risky it could be if Yui knew everything about the Sekirei Plan.  Still, he couldn’t help but point out, “But if you wing more Sekirei, Yui-chan is bound to notice that something is off.  She’s young, but she’s smart.  She’ll ask questions eventually.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.  And I know that we can’t keep everything from her, there’s no way that could work.  So when she wants to know something, we’ll give her an answer, just don’t go into enough detail that it would be dangerous if she were to say anything.  I mean, it’s not like anyone would actually believe her if she did say something, but that doesn’t mean that Minaka won’t take it as an excuse to come after us.”

Conceding his Ashikabi’s point, Kagari followed her to the table to eat.  Yui, apparently having already forgotten the whole Sekirei conversation from earlier, couldn’t wait to tell her new friend all about the day’s adventures.  Sora looked on in amusement at how all the talking caused Yui’s ability to eat neatly deteriorate exponentially, and the subsequent mess seemed to be getting on Kagari’s nerves as he kept reaching for a napkin to wipe her off.  After the third attempt to clean Yui off, Sora finally told him not to bother until she’d finished eating.

After dinner, to Kagari’s apparent relief, Sora did clean Yui’s face and hands and had her change her shirt.  Checking the clock, Sora saw that Yui’s bedtime was swiftly approaching only to realise, to her dismay, that her daughter’s nap earlier seemed to have completely energised that young girl.  Sighing, Sora thought, _Oh, what the hell?  It’s not like this day was all that great a display of my parenting skills.  Emergency grocery shopping, sugary breakfast, ice cream for lunch, pizza for dinner, aliens barging in, not like it can be made all that worse by throwing out the bedtime._

Shrugging, Sora decided that a movie might be the perfect way to get Yui in bed before midnight and, because she figured that she was pretty screwed already, she made full-fatted, buttered, and salted popcorn while Yui looked through the DVDs for what she wanted to watch.

Coming back in from throwing the pizza boxes into the recycling bin, Kagari was surprised to see his Ashikabi cooking again.  Before he even had time to frame the question, Sora said, “Movie night.  You joining?”

“If you don’t mind.”

Spying the DVD case that Yui had pulled out, Sora said, “Only as long as you don’t mind talking dragons and really bad crossdressing.”

Slightly confused by what that meant, Kagari shrugged before offering to help with the popcorn.  Waving his offer off, Sora instead sent him to supervise Yui in order to make sure that she didn’t somehow damage the TV or assorted other paraphernalia.

A few minutes later, Sora had the opening credits of _Mulan_ playing across the screen while she sat on the couch with a popcorn bowl on her lap and her daughter leaning against her side.  Shifting a little with the intent of offering some popcorn to her new houseguest/soon to be roommate, Sora was startled to feel an arm loosely wrap around her shoulders as said person sat down next to her.

Noticing his Ashikabi’s suddenly stiff form, Kagari wondered for a moment if he had gone too far and was actually undoing all the progress he’d made so far.  His fears were put at ease as Sora, remembering that she had agreed to some physical contact and that her guest had been a perfect gentleman so far, relaxed slightly and turned back to the TV.  Kagari couldn’t help but frown slightly at how his Ashikabi was still notably more tense than she had been when he’d walked in before deciding to take his small victory at face value for the time being.  It wasn’t like he’d expected Sora to accept the contact immediately anyway, he’d just seen a chance to try to ease her into the idea of touching him.

Though slightly deflated at the blatant discomfort his Ashikabi initially felt, Kagari was satisfied that, as the movie went on, Sora gradually relaxed into the loose embrace, eventually even leaning against his shoulder.

After a while though, Sora began moving to get up, citing the empty popcorn bowl.  Deciding that a doing a little household chore might earn him some brownie points, and spare him some of his Ashikabi’s ire when they were alone, Kagari volunteered to wash the bowls, which were too big for the dishwasher.

As Kagari came back into the living room, he noticed that Yui was splayed across Sora’s lap, obviously in dream land.  About to make a joke, Kagari looked up slightly to see that Sora had also fallen asleep, her head tilted awkwardly to the side across the back of the couch.

Smiling slightly, Kafari stepped forward to scoop up the younger girl first and, careful not to bump her mother when he stood, slightly awkward due to the warm weight of a child in his arms, he carried Yui up to her room.  Never having had to care for a child, Kagari wasn’t entirely certain about what to do, so he simply put her down in her crib and put her blanket over her, hoping that he wasn't leaving out some kind of crucial element that could end up hurting the child.

That done, he returned to the living room.  Carefully lifting Sora in a bridal carry, Kagari was relieved when he didn't detect any change in her deep breathing, and carried her to her room.  After putting her in her bed, Kagari looked at her for a few minutes, debating if the consequences would be worth it, before laying down beside her.


	8. Chapter 8

Waking up, Sora panicked for a few seconds upon feeling the weight across her waist before registering the vaguely familiar warmth of being pressed against Kagari’s chest.

_Geez, this guy . . . Should I even bother cleaning out a room for him if he’s just gonna keep sneaking in here?_

Sighing, Sora acknowledged that she wasn’t all that upset to wake up next to someone.  Still though, Sora felt that some boundaries had to be put in place ASAP before things got out of hand.  Resigned to the fact that she couldn’t exactly do anything for the moment, Sora began to wiggle out from under Kagari’s arm, which then turned to pushing Kagari’s arm, which eventually became prying at Kagari’s arm.

_Stupid strength.  Why does a guy like him even need to be this strong?_

Finally giving up on getting out of this situation without help, Sora turned her efforts to shoving at Kagari’s shoulder until he blearily opened his eyes.  “Oi, I have classes today.  Let go.”

After staring at his Ashikabi for a moment, trying to process what was being said, Kagari lifted his arm, allowing Sora to finally get out of bed.  Finally catching onto his Ashikabi’s mood, though not entirely sure what to make of it, Kagari figured that it would be a good idea to get up before he was thrown out.

Hearing her uninvited guest getting up, Sora asked him if he had any plans for the day while she looked through her closet for a clean shirt.   _I’m gonna have to do laundry after work.  Maybe if I hurry, I can put a load of clothes after classes and then still get to work on time.  That way I can sleep as soon as I get out of work and I could probably do the sheets and Yui’s clothes tomorrow during my free period._

Oblivious to his Ashikabi’s furious planning, Kagari said that he’d probably be watching the arboretum, something which was odd enough to actually get Sora to look away from her clothes hunt to stare at him.  “What do you mean, patrol?”

Scratching the back of his head for a second, Kagari explained, “Similarly to Mikogami and Higa, there are other, lesser known Ashikabi who also regularly try to forcibly wing Sekirei, along with normal people who somehow heard about this ridiculous game and want an unlimited MBI credit card.

“In expectation of this, one of my adjusters at MBI asked me to act as a guardian to unwinged Sekirei, doing my best to make sure that all of us find out chosen Ashikabi.  Of course, I haven’t been able to do a perfect job, as evidenced by Mikogami and Higa’s strength, but I do what I can.”

“So that’s why you showed up that night,” Sora realised aloud.  “You were trying to protect that girl.”

“Yes, though the fact that you were also involved did make it a little bit more important.  So after I take you to your school, I’ll be going around the city to look after my charges.  If you need me, I will have my cell, so just give me a call and I’ll come as quickly as I can,” Kagari assured her.

Nodding, Sora found that she had two things to add.  “How are these random people who, from what you’ve said, don’t even sound like they’re Ashikabi, finding out about the Sekirei Plan?  I thought it was supposed to be one big secret.”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Kagari admitted.  “Takami-san, the person who gave me this assignment, is also a high-ranking member of MBI and has been investigating the issue ever since I told her about it.  Our original assumption was that one of the adjusters that was fired leaked the info, but Takami-san was able to track down and clear all of them.”

“Are you sure you can trust her?  After all, she does work for the sociopath,” Sora said skeptically.

Shaking his head, Kagari explained, “At one point, the Sekirei Plan was much different than it is today, primarily because Takami-san and Takehito-san worked together to Minaka in check.  After Takehito-san’s death though, Takami-san wasn’t able to pick up all the slack and the Plan came to be what it is today.  In all honesty, it wouldn’t surprise me if that bastard wanted to make this game of his even worse but knew he wouldn’t be able to get by her.”

Seeing his Ashikabi’s embarrassment for what, Kagari had to admit, was a valid concern, he said soothingly, “Anyway, since I became the Sekirei Guardian, Takami-san has kept me informed of what she knows about that bastard’s plans, as well as telling me the locations of some of the higher risk Sekirei.”

“Higher risk?”

“Like you know, some Sekirei are acknowledged to be stronger than others, as well as having more useful abilities.  Technically, this knowledge is supposed to be a secret unless rumors go around, but these many security breaches, as well as Minaka’s little games, have caused some to become very widely known.”  Seeing his Ashikabi’s confusion, Kagari explained, “Sometimes Minaka decides to add to his enjoyment by basically raffling off a certain Sekirei.  Takami-san does what she can to let me know about these little events before he publicly releases them, but there’s only so much she can do.”

Nodding, Sora asked, “So, the arboretum?”

“There’s a Sekirei hiding in there.  That’s the reason the place suddenly became a jungle.”

Sora simply nodded, telling Kagari that if he wanted to shower before she finished, he’d have to use the bathroom in the hall, though he’d probably have to use Yui’s supplies.  Finally finding a shirt, Sora moved laundry to a priority for the day and headed into the attached master bathroom.

* * *

 

While Kagari took his own shower, using Sora’s bathroom, Sora herself started breakfast only to realise that the usual amount that she made wasn’t going to be anywhere close to enough to feed her new houseguest.  After a moment of thought, Sora decided to simply make double what she usually made and if Kagari wanted more after that, he knew where the refrigerator was.

Once breakfast was done, Sora hurried to wake up Yui and get her dressed.  Looking at the clock, Sora cursed the fact that she’d taken so much time to question Kagari when she hadn’t even woken up Asa yet.  The girl was usually a sweet child, but she slept through every alarm ever invented, so part of Sora’s morning routine was to wake her up so Asa could both get to school on time and watch Yui until her grandmother woke up.

Coming downstairs with a sleepy Yui in her arms, Sora saw the subject of her distraction and decided that he didn’t seem like an axe murderer, telling him bring Yui next door when they finished eating.  Throwing Asa to the wolves, Sora grabbed some toast before running out the door.

Kagari looked at the child eating across from in bemusement as he realised that he had essentially been left as a babysitter to a child that he barely knew, despite never having spent any time with children.  Wonderful.

Repressing the urge to cringe at the mess that said child had managed to make while eating, Kagari idly wondered if this could be considered practice for watching over Number 108.  From what he could recall, she was only a few years older than Yui.  However, this caused him to remember that that bastard Mikogami was bound to send his Sekirei after her sooner rather than later.  And here he was playing nanny.

With this mindset, Kagari was relieved when Yui finally finished her breakfast, particularly when he was finally able to wipe the excess food off the child’s face, and hurriedly placing the dishes into the washer - _Thank the gods that this house is more modern than Maison Izumo_ \- Kagari ushered Yui over to the Akiyama residence.

However, when the door was opened, Kagari was greeted to yet another surprise when a slender woman who appeared to be somewhere in her eighties opened the door.  Kagari remembered that Sora had mentioned that Asa lived with her grandmother most of the time, but he hadn’t expected to meet the woman, particularly this soon.  He had been under the impression that Asa was the one who watched Yui, though, after he thought about it, he realised that it would be impossible for her to watch Yui during school hours.

Realising that the elder Akiyama was regarding him with some suspicion, Kagari smiled at her calmly.  “Good morning, Akiyama-san.  I apologise for the intrusion, particularly so early in the morning, but Sora-san from next door asked me to bring Yui-chan over here.  She said that often babysat for her, I believe.”

“Yes, my granddaughter and I often watch Yui-chan while Sora-chan is at work,” the elderly woman said as she saw Yui standing next to him.  “But may I ask who you are?  I don’t believe I’ve seen you around here.”

“I’m a friend of Sora-san’s.  She was running late this morning and asked me to stay with Yui-chan while she had her breakfast before walking her over here.”

More than slightly uncomfortable at the older woman’s scrutiny, Kagari quickly handed Yui over to her, shocked when the child paused to wrap her arms around his legs before darted past the older woman into the house.

Walking away, Kagari swore that he could hear the older woman starting to dial a phone number.   _Sora is never going to let me live this down_ , Kagari thought with a groan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know that my updates have been pretty sporadic, and they're probably going to be even more so for the next little while because I've got some things that are happening right now which will take up my time, but will also make me want to write my stress out. So yeah, I'll either update a lot or it'll take me forever, depending on which of those effects win out.
> 
> Also, avert your eyes if you don't want to see this, but here is a list of the Sekirei that Sora will wing, though it is still open to change: Kagari, Akitsu, Kochou, Kusano, Shiina, Taki, Kaho, Uzume and Kazehana.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry for the long wait. We got a lovely snow storm that knocked out my wifi, so I wasn't able to post this until now. But the forecast has cleared, so hopefully updates will be more frequent from here on out.
> 
> Also, this chapter was beta'd by Ikrani; he has a great MinatoXSekirei story on fanfiction.net if any of you are interested.

True to Kagari’s prediction, Sora thoroughly enjoyed taunting him over how she got a call asking whether or not he should be reported to the pedo-police. Just about the only times Kagari managed to escape from the constant mockery were when his Ashikabi fell asleep and when he was out on his patrols. It got even worse when Sora mentioned his little run-in with the elder Akiyama to Asa, who then began joining in on the fun.

Despite the heckling at home, Kagari had to admit that he was a little happy with the way things had turned out. Sora, while still not at all pleased with being involved in Minaka’s game, was slowly opening up to the idea of having Kagari around long term. She wasn’t exactly getting down on one knee, and he knew she’d punch him if he mentioned it, even as a joke. But she didn’t seem to mind his presence as much now; for the first few days, Kagari had half-expected her to throw him out on the streets.

Still, the thought of Sora being left alone while he was on patrol put Kagari on edge. He almost wished he’d found an Ashikabi who didn’t have anywhere to go but to Maison Izumo. After a while, though, Kagari decided to simply be thankful that he had an Ashikabi at all, something which he’d been told may not have even been possible.

As Sora came back from class, she saw that no one was home. Not all that concerning, considering that Kagari had been spending more and more time outside the arboretum. Sora began to move towards the fridge, figuring that she’d make dinner before she went next door to pick up Yui.

Before she was even able to open the fridge door, her phone rang. Idly wondering if it was Asa wanting to place her order, Sora was surprised to see her boss’ number flash across the screen.

Knowing that Sora didn’t have much patience for small talk, her boss cut to the chase. “Miyamoto-san, I know that you have the day off from work, but one of the other girls quit today and another one called in sick. You mentioned a little while ago that you wanted some more shifts; do you think you could take theirs, for today at least?”

“What shifts did they have?” Sora asked as she lazily checked the cupboards to see if she had stuff for sandwiches, her go-to menu for when she got calls like this. Not exactly gourmet, but it kept her neighbors alive; the Akiyamas only complained if it went on for days on end.  It wasn’t often, but occasionally her boss would try and fail to find a different replacement for a few days and would be forced to call her last-minute.

Slightly bemused at his answer, Sora could understand why her boss had sounded so desperate to find a replacement. Usually, her boss tried to find someone other than Sora because, while she was a good worker and could double as a bouncer for the less pleasant customers, she also worked so many hours that he almost certainly had to pay her overtime for any additional shifts. Apparently the two errant waitresses had shifts that backed into each other, with one supposed to be taking over for the other at eight that night. The first shift generally wouldn’t be a problem for her boss to fill, but the second shift ended at two in the morning, and most of the waitresses refused to walk through the neighborhood at that time.

Shrugging, Sora agreed to be there in an hour, before turning her attention to making enough sandwiches to feed everyone. Which, unfortunately included Kagari. 

_ And he thinks I’m going to invite another Sekirei into this house? Not unless their power includes cooking for twenty. _ As she piled the veritable mountain of sandwiches onto a plate, and covered it with plastic wrap, Sora considered sending him a text to let him know where she was going. But, she decided to write him a note instead; the last time she’d had a late shift at work, Kagari had insisted on leaving his patrols to take her home, as though she was some kind of helpless maiden.

Snorting at the memory, Sora wondered if Kagari would even have a chance to read her note. Apparently most of the Ashikabi who were after that Sekirei in the arboretum only operated at night because of all the media attention during the day. As a result, Kagari had taken to a schedule that was more fitting for a vampire, usually returning home just in time for Sora to wake up to him sliding into bed. He was better than an alarm clock, really.

Sora paused for a moment as she realised that she was supposed to help Kagari move his stuff the next day. She then shrugged, deciding that the shifts wouldn’t really be much of a problem for that. With Kagari’s new sleeping schedule, he probably wouldn’t wake up before her anyway.

After work, Sora had to admit that she was tired, having been awake since five in the morning. Yet she was also feeling somewhat energised, perhaps because it was the first time in days that she had been able to leave her house without having Kagari following her. Sora could get that he was worried about her, but damn if it wasn’t stifling to always have an escort, especially when she told him that she’d be going alone and then catch him following her out of the corner of her eye.

Humming softly, Sora decided to make the most out of her freedom and go for a run. She’d always enjoyed running, particularly at dawn or dusk when no one was out, but between Yui’s care and Kagari’s paranoia, she hadn’t been able to go out for a while. Detouring towards the park that she had gone to with Yui, Sora could feel her thoughts drifting to the strange turns that her life had taken recently.

Thinking on it now, she still felt amazed. If someone had told her a month ago that she’d be living with an alien, and a man no less, she’d have asked them what kind of illegal junk they were smoking. And yet, now that it had happened, Sora found herself trying to adjust to all of the changes Kagari had brought to her daily life.

Coming up on the edge of the park, Sora thought about how she had been waking up next to him for several days now, and she wouldn’t go so far as to say that was a  _ bad _ thing. She didn’t exactly mind that she had someone to help around the house, on the rare occasions that Kagari was awake while she was there. But at the same time, she couldn’t decide whether she would, or even should, allow him to continue dictating the sleeping arrangements. He may get the idea that she’d allow more in time, something that Sora would have to nip in the bud. But then, he hadn’t protested when Sora had told him flatly that he didn’t have a chance. And Sora had to admit that, aside from him sneaking into her bed every night, he had been a perfect gentleman, never doing anything more than holding her while they slept.

_ He even helps with Yui without me having to ask him _ , Sora mused, while finding a path that would take her along the outer reaches.  _ But what happens if he can’t handle the fact that this is the way things are going to stay? The most likely scenarios would be that he’d either learn some kind for acceptance, or he might leave.  And what then? It would hurt, but I’d be able to keep going. What about Yui? She’s never really had any interaction with any men, aside from seeing them on the street. _

_ Then again, it wouldn’t be good for her to never see  _ any  _ men. She could end up being too sheltered. But should I let her see  _ Kagari _ all the time? She likes him, and if he were to suddenly disappear from her life, what would that do to her? _

Sora was so absorbed in her circular thoughts that she didn’t notice she’d wandered into the actual park. She’d only intended to make this a short run, skirting around the edges in order to burn off some of her excess energy, but her feet had taken her onto one of the many paths that cut through the grass.

When she finally  _ did  _ realise she’d drifted off-track, Sora was more surprised by the fact that she could see the hunched form of a person sitting on a park bench. Not only was it late, but this person was wearing very little. Even from a distance of a few dozen feet, Sora could tell that the unmoving person was a woman due to the thin cloth that clung to the top of her bust. For a moment, Sora thought that the woman might be homeless, but even that wouldn’t explain why she was there. The police in this area did regular sweeps in order to clear out any squatters.

As she got closer, Sora was shocked to see that what she had assumed was a thin jacket over the woman’s shoulders was actually a lab coat. Which also happened to be the only thing that the woman had on, making Sora shiver in sympathy at the thought of wearing so little clothing in this weather.

Pausing, Sora debated whether or not she should call the police, particularly when she noticed blood rimming the edge of the coat.  Resuming her stride, Sora decided to see exactly what was going on before she did anything. For all she knew, the woman could just be part of one big joke, or she’d been the victim of a crime and didn’t want to report it to the police.

When Sora reached the bench, the woman didn’t even look up. If anything, she seemed to shrink into herself even more, something that Sora hadn’t even thought possible. The woman looked like the portrait of defeat, with her legs pulled loosely against herself and her head and shoulders hanging down.

Realising that this woman wasn’t going to be the one who started the conversation, if she even bothered to respond at all, Sora decided to start small, simply saying “Hello.” When that garnered no response, not even a glance upward, Sora decided to just go with what she was comfortable with. Sora had never been one for pleasantries, and she somehow doubted that this woman was in the mood for them either. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at home?”

Upon hearing the questions, the woman raised her head, though not far enough for Sora to see her face, and said dully, “I have no home. . . Or anywhere else to go.”

“Is that so?” Sora questioned thoughtfully, trying to figure out what to do now. “Well, why are you here then? I mean, you could’ve decided to just plop down anywhere, so why here in particular?”

“I’m broken; I can never spread my wings,” the woman stated before dropping her head again, clearly expecting Sora to leave.

Meanwhile, Sora was getting a bad feeling about who this woman might be, especially with the way she was fixated on being winged.  _ Why does this shit always have to happen to me? It’s not my job to help people get over every bad thing that happens to them. _ For a couple seconds, Sora considered accepting the woman’s dismissal before she got pulled into some even more fucked up shit. Unfortunately, she realised very quickly that if she just left this woman here to... die, Sora supposed, then she’d regret it. Maybe not immediately, but it would nag at her.

Deciding to leave that particular issue to one side, Sora asked, “So, what? You just want me to leave you here until you either freeze to death or starve?”

Hearing a noise of assent, Sora decided that she was done coddling the woman and simply stated, “Bullshit.” Slightly satisfied by how she finally jerked her head up, Sora wasn’t all that surprised, more resigned, really, to see a bright red tattoo in the middle of the woman’s forehead: a bird atop a yin-yang symbol.

Frowning slightly, as something about the tattoo being there bothered her, Sora decided to deal with the issue at hand before piling more problems onto her plate. “If you really wanted to die, you wouldn’t be sitting here. You’d be somewhere with a knife in your hand or at the top of a very tall building. Instead you’re here, in plain view where anyone can see you and without any easy or immediate way to go.”

Peering through to the other woman’s soul, Sora allowed her voice to soften as she spotted that all-too-familiar ache. “Tell me the truth. You don’t really want to die here, do you? You just don’t want to continue living the way you are now.” The surprise she saw confirmed Sora’s suspicions. Leaning a little closer, Sora asked, “It’s painful to not be needed, isn’t it?”

“No one needs a broken Sekirei,” the woman stated flatly, though Sora could still see the her despair.

_ Well, I guess she really is a Sekirei _ , Sora concluded before finally remembering what was wrong here.  _ Wait a minute, didn’t Kagari say that that tattoo only appears on the backs of  _ winged  _ Sekirei? Maybe she and her Ashikabi had a fight and that’s what caused the tattoo to move? _

Sora inwardly sighed at her own crappy logic, but decided that it was probably the best working theory she had at the moment. Bringing herself back to the present, Sora tried to figure out what to do. If the woman  _ did  _ have an Ashikabi, then she should probably try to get them back together in order to avoid starting some kind of a turf war between the herself and whoever her Ashikabi was.

But the way the woman was acting, Sora didn’t think that was the case. For a few moments, Sora questioned whether or not she should ask the woman (and she really needed to find out what her name was) before realising that she should focus more on finding out about the situation than on making friends.

Tired of getting the same answer, Sora asked, “Did you lose a fight or something?  I get that you guys take your fights seriously, but don’t you think this is a bit much?”

The woman told her, “I’m broken. I can’t be winged by an Ashikabi.”

_ Well,  _ that  _ was helpful _ , Sora thought, her irritation returning.  _ Well, at least it looks like I don’t have to worry about her Ashikabi coming after me if she doesn’t have one. _

“If you can’t be someone’s Sekirei, then how does ‘executive babysitter’ sound?” Sora asked. Receiving a confused look, Sora figured she should explain. “I’m an Ashikabi and, while I can’t say that I particularly care for this sick game, I can live with it. Problem is, I also have a daughter who could end up getting caught in the crossfire. So if I had someone like you, who doesn’t have anywhere else to go, around to protect her, things would be easier for me.”

“You don’t want to wing me,” the woman stated morosely. Sora blinked as the woman’s head dropped once more.

Sighing, Sora acknowledged that she had known that this could happen. “From what I’ve heard, Sekirei usually want to be winged by an Ashikabi that they’re reacting to. Since you don’t seem to be reacting to me, I figured you wouldn’t want to be winged by me.” Seeing the woman flinch for some reason, Sora took a deep breath and decided to bite the bullet, so to speak. “Look, it’s not that I don’t want to wing you. But from what you’ve said, it seems that it’s not possible for some reason. If you want me as your Ashikabi, I’m not against the idea, even if it’s only an...  _ honorary  _ position.”

At the fierce hope that she saw spring to life in the woman’s eyes, Sora finally got up from her crouched position, wincing slightly as her now stiff muscles protested the movement. Holding out her hand, Sora said, “It’s three square meals a day and a roof over your head in exchange for keeping an eye on a little girl. So, what do you say?”

Smiling softly as she felt a the cool hand touch her own, Sora added lightly, “Glad to be working with you. I’m Miyamoto Sora.”

“Akitsu,” the woman replied as she stood up, forcing Sora to realise that not only was she wearing just a lab coat, but that the coat was too small for her. Her next realization was that she was ogling Akitsu, as her head only reached the Sekirei’s chest, and upon dropping her gaze, a blush formed on her cheeks as she rediscovered Akitsu’s panty-less state.

_ There’s just no way around this, is there?  _ she joked to herself.

Sora let go of her hand in order to pull off the hoodie that she was wearing. Even if Kagari said that Sekirei weren’t affected by the cold, which was evidenced by the fact that this woman didn’t seem at all chilled, Sora didn’t want to deal with Akitsu being mistaken for a flasher.

However, before she got the chance to fully remove her hoodie, Sora heard a pair of voices approaching. While that would be slightly alarming in and of itself considering the time, the thing that really made Sora’s blood run cold was hearing the louder, higher-pitched voice say “Mutsu”.

Ignoring Akitsu’s confusion, Sora tried desperately to remember why that name would twist her guts. Shaking her head slightly, Sora once more grabbed Akitsu and pulled her towards the nearby trees. Finding a tree that still held leaves, Sora pushed Akitsu against the trunk, whispering to keep quiet.

When a few minutes passed, Sora began to wonder if she was panicking for nothing. Sure, there were at least two men coming towards them, but they could have an innocent reason for being here. They could’ve been at a party, or just gotten into town. Hell, they could’ve been coming home from work, like Sora. Even if they  _ did  _ have ill intentions, Sora was certain that she’d be able to handle them.

Despite that, Sora’s mind kept coming back to that name: Mutsu. Sora  _ knew  _ she’d heard it before. Dropping her head against Akitsu’s chest as she tried to think, Sora listened to the two men’s voices slowly drawing closer.

A small part of her mind kept telling her that she should just go home and deal with what may come of it. But the larger, smarter part of Sora’s brain was telling her that she didn’t want to get into a fight with two people that she didn’t know, possibly with an injured woman dragging her down. Especially when that name kept nagging at her. Sora would have just ignored it, taking it as a coincidence, or maybe the man was an acquaintance of hers, but something stopped her.

It wasn’t until Sora heard the deeper voice, who she assumed was Mutsu, say the word “Mikogami” that everything clicked into place. Over the last few days, Kagari had been giving her a crash course in not only Sekirei biology and habits, but also the more dangerous Ashikabi running around.

If Sora was remembering correctly, Mikogami was the Ashikabi of the South, and Mutsu was one of the strongest Sekirei in the city. She was also pretty sure that Mikogami was the one obsessed with winging every Sekirei he could. One mystery solved, Sora tried to figure out why they were here until she felt Akitsu shift her weight slightly.

Oh.

Ooooooh.  _ Not _ promising.

Blushing slightly at having missed something so obvious, Sora stood up on tiptoe, once again cursing her tiny frame, until her lips came close to Akitsu’s ear. “I don’t have any proof, but I’m pretty sure those guys out there are an Ashikabi and Sekirei. The Sekirei is supposedly one of the strongest there is, and we can’t fight them when you’re like this. Stay close, keep quiet, and hopefully they’ll move on soon.”

At Akitsu’s nod, Sora focused once more on the conversation taking place on the other side of the tree. From the sound of it, Mikogami was throwing a tantrum about the Sekirei they were looking for not being here anymore. As he began to wind down, Sora held her breath, hoping that they wouldn’t decide to look around the area.  For a few seconds, Sora cursed that she hadn’t hadn’t taken the chance to run when she’d had it; even the most perfunctory search on Mikogami’s part would get them caught.

Sora was finally able to breathe again when she heard the two decide to go back home, with Mutsu saying something about Mikogami’s ‘collection’ being big enough already. Gritting her teeth slightly when she realised exactly what collection Mutsu was talking about, Sora waited a few more minutes for the two to scram before she slowly pulled away from Akitsu.

Peeking around the tree, Sora couldn’t see anyone. After giving Akistu her hoodie, Sora began leading the woman home, trying to convince herself that the only reason she was hurrying was because of the cold.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a new story, obviously, but I do plan on continuing and eventually finishing it. So if you could give me your thoughts on Sora, as well as anyone who you think should be in her flock (and yeah, I know it's pretty early for that, but hey, they still might show up), that would be great.
> 
> Also, I am going to try to write another chapter today and post it, but I have no idea if I'll actually be able to since my cousin is visiting today. I'll try, but if it doesn't get done today, it doesn't get done today, and I'll post it next Saturday.


End file.
